Washington to Nantucket

What the Data Says About DCA to ACK

The Washington to Nantucket corridor (DCA → ACK) covers roughly 405 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 1,353 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 75.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,353 flights were recorded on this pairing — 47 cancelled (3.5%) and 22 diverted (1.6%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 3 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 1,353 total flights analyzed, the 82.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 75.7-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, Aug 2020 posted the best performance on this corridor at 98% on-time, while Aug 2023 came in at 72% on-time — a 26-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DCA to ACK route, the combination of a 82.6% on-time rate, 75.7-minute average delay, 3.5% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.