Columbia to Washington

What the Data Says About CAE to DCA

The Columbia to Washington corridor (CAE → DCA) covers roughly 408 miles and is served by 8 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 4,909 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 77.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 83.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,111 flights were recorded on this pairing — 104 cancelled (4.9%) and 11 diverted (0.5%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 8 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 4,909 total flights analyzed, the 77.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 83.7-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 86% on-time, while Dec 2024 came in at 53% on-time — a 33-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the CAE to DCA route, the combination of a 77.8% on-time rate, 83.7-minute average delay, 4.9% recent cancellation rate, and 8 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.