Washington to Memphis

What the Data Says About DCA to MEM

The Washington to Memphis corridor (DCA → MEM) covers roughly 762 miles and is served by 15 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,709 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 67.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,256 flights were recorded on this pairing — 61 cancelled (2.7%) and 2 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 15 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 5,709 total flights analyzed, the 81.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 67.3-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 95% on-time, while Jul 2024 came in at 55% on-time — a 40-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DCA to MEM route, the combination of a 81.7% on-time rate, 67.3-minute average delay, 2.7% recent cancellation rate, and 15 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.