Bangor to Washington

What the Data Says About BGR to DCA

The Bangor to Washington corridor (BGR → DCA) covers roughly 590 miles and is served by 20 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 4,963 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 98.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,974 flights were recorded on this pairing — 96 cancelled (4.9%) and 8 diverted (0.4%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 20 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 4,963 total flights analyzed, the 79.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 98.2-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 89% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at 65% on-time — a 25-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the BGR to DCA route, the combination of a 79.7% on-time rate, 98.2-minute average delay, 4.9% recent cancellation rate, and 20 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.