Charleston to Washington

What the Data Says About CHS to DCA

The Charleston to Washington corridor (CHS → DCA) covers roughly 444 miles and is served by 24 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 8,765 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 88.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,653 flights were recorded on this pairing — 154 cancelled (4.2%) and 19 diverted (0.5%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 24 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 8,765 total flights analyzed, the 81.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 88.2-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, Nov 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 94% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 67% on-time — a 26-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the CHS to DCA route, the combination of a 81.4% on-time rate, 88.2-minute average delay, 4.2% recent cancellation rate, and 24 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.