Washington to Columbia

What the Data Says About DCA to CAE

The Washington to Columbia corridor (DCA → CAE) covers roughly 408 miles and is served by 7 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 4,903 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 76.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 69.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,109 flights were recorded on this pairing — 104 cancelled (4.9%) and 5 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 7 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 4,903 total flights analyzed, the 76.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 69.7-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 88% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at 53% on-time — a 35-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DCA to CAE route, the combination of a 76.4% on-time rate, 69.7-minute average delay, 4.9% recent cancellation rate, and 7 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.