Atlanta to Richmond

What the Data Says About ATL to RIC

The Atlanta to Richmond corridor (ATL → RIC) covers roughly 481 miles and is served by 4 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 18,202 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 83.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 60.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,833 flights were recorded on this pairing — 56 cancelled (1.0%) and 7 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 4 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 18,202 total flights analyzed, the 83.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 60.6-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 61% on-time — a 29-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ATL to RIC route, the combination of a 83.4% on-time rate, 60.6-minute average delay, 1.0% recent cancellation rate, and 4 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.