Washington to Dallas/Fort Worth

What the Data Says About DCA to DFW

The Washington to Dallas/Fort Worth corridor (DCA → DFW) covers roughly 1,192 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 17,803 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82% on-time rate with an average delay of 91.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 6,713 flights were recorded on this pairing — 177 cancelled (2.6%) and 40 diverted (0.6%). 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 17,803 total flights analyzed, the 82% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 91.9-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, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 60% on-time — a 30-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DCA to DFW route, the combination of a 82% on-time rate, 91.9-minute average delay, 2.6% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.