Washington to Charleston

What the Data Says About DCA to CHS

The Washington to Charleston corridor (DCA → CHS) covers roughly 444 miles and is served by 24 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 8,767 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 73.1 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,655 flights were recorded on this pairing — 129 cancelled (3.5%) and 4 diverted (0.1%). 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 8,767 total flights analyzed, the 78.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 73.1-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 61% on-time — a 29-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DCA to CHS route, the combination of a 78.8% on-time rate, 73.1-minute average delay, 3.5% recent cancellation rate, and 24 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.