Charlotte to Richmond

What the Data Says About CLT to RIC

The Charlotte to Richmond corridor (CLT → RIC) covers roughly 257 miles and is served by 12 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 14,584 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 73.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,377 flights were recorded on this pairing — 71 cancelled (1.3%) and 9 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 12 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 14,584 total flights analyzed, the 78.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 73.9-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 88% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 56% on-time — a 32-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the CLT to RIC route, the combination of a 78.9% on-time rate, 73.9-minute average delay, 1.3% recent cancellation rate, and 12 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.