Route · DCA → SFO · 2020–2025 BTS data
Washington to San Francisco
According to PlainFlights' route traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), DCA to SFO (Washington to San Francisco) ranks #2966 of 4927 tracked domestic routes by total flights (most flights = #1).
Data updated 2026-06-13
- 78.9%
- On-time
- -0.1 pts
- vs US avg
- 79 min
- Delay when late
- 3,834
- Flights
- #2966 of 4927
- Corpus placement
Cancelled
0.6%
Best Month
Oct 2024 92%
Worst Month
Feb 2025 59%
Distance
2,442 mi
Carriers
3
Monthly Performance
Recent 24 months of route data.
| Period | Flights | Delayed | Cancelled | Diverted | Carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 93 | 25 | 0 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Nov 2025 | 89 | 16 | 0 | 0 | UA,AS |
| Oct 2025 | 93 | 28 | 0 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Sep 2025 | 90 | 14 | 1 | 0 | UA,AS |
| Aug 2025 | 93 | 13 | 0 | 0 | UA,AS |
| Jul 2025 | 93 | 31 | 5 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Jun 2025 | 89 | 30 | 0 | 1 | AS,UA |
| May 2025 | 93 | 13 | 0 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Apr 2025 | 90 | 11 | 0 | 0 | UA,AS |
| Mar 2025 | 93 | 14 | 1 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Feb 2025 | 71 | 29 | 1 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Jan 2025 | 62 | 12 | 1 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Dec 2024 | 62 | 9 | 0 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Nov 2024 | 59 | 13 | 0 | 0 | UA,AS |
| Oct 2024 | 61 | 5 | 0 | 0 | UA,AS |
| Sep 2024 | 59 | 8 | 0 | 0 | UA,AS |
| Aug 2024 | 62 | 13 | 0 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Jul 2024 | 62 | 16 | 0 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Jun 2024 | 60 | 10 | 0 | 1 | AS,UA |
| May 2024 | 62 | 17 | 0 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Apr 2024 | 60 | 20 | 0 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Mar 2024 | 62 | 18 | 0 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Feb 2024 | 58 | 6 | 1 | 0 | AS,UA |
| Jan 2024 | 62 | 8 | 1 | 0 | AS,UA |
DCA–SFO seasonal on-time pattern
Best: September (86.9%) · weakest: July (67.9%)
Strongest calendar month
September
86.9% on-time · ~66 flights/mo
Busiest calendar month
May
~70 flights/mo avg
Weakest calendar month
July
67.9% on-time · ~65 flights/mo
Cancellation Rate
0.6%
11 of 1,778 flights
Diversion Rate
0.1%
2 of 1,778 flights
Explore origin & destination
On-time and delay data for the airports this route connects.
DCA - Washington
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for Washington, DC.
DCA on-time profileSFO - San Francisco
Full on-time, delay-cause, and seasonal performance for San Francisco, CA.
SFO on-time profileCompare the two airports
See DCA and SFO side by side on delays, cancellations, and reliability.
Compare DCA vs SFOOrigin-hub reliability standing
Mid-pack among DCA departures
From DCA, this corridor sits with 77 other 75–85% on-time routes out of 91 tracked departures, not the hub's reliability leaders (4 at ≥85%) and not the softest ( 10 below 75%). Destination: San Francisco · fleet on-time rank #3545 of 4927.
Similar routes
Other BTS-tracked routes with comparable performance or trip length to DCA–SFO.
Routes with a similar on-time rate
What the Data Says About DCA to SFO
3,834 tracked flights put the DCA to SFO pairing (Washington to San Francisco) at a 78.9% on-time rate, squarely in line with the wider network. Delays that do occur run 79.0 minutes on average. Across the 2,442-mile route and its 3 carriers, the trailing 24 months show 0.6% cancelled and 0.1% diverted (1,778 flights sampled).
The monthly split is wide on this route: Oct 2024 posted the strongest performance at 92% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at just 59% - a 33-point swing worth factoring into travel timing.
On the multi-year calendar, DCA–SFO peaks in September at 86.9% on-time while May carries the heaviest traffic (~70 flights per month) ; the softest month is July at 67.9%, a 19.0-point swing that repeats because the corridor's weather and holiday mix stays stable year to year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does DCA to SFO rank among US routes by traffic? ▼
How often are flights delayed from DCA to SFO? ▼
What is the cancellation rate for DCA to SFO? ▼
How far is the flight from DCA to SFO? ▼
When is the best time to fly from DCA to SFO? ▼
Airports on this route
Data source
Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data. Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Using DCA–SFO data
DCA–SFO is mid-pack at 78.9% on-time; month and carrier mix move more than the corridor headline.
- Compare DCA and SFO airport profiles: delay causes and top routes differ even on the same corridor. DCA airport
- If your dates flex, September (86.9% on-time) beats July (67.9%) on this corridor. Seasonal chart
- 4 other routes post a similar 78.9% on-time rate; compare before you commit to this pairing. Similar routes
On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers on this origin–destination pair, not any single flight or booking recommendation.
Every figure on PlainFlights is rendered directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page aggregates this specific route's on-time performance and monthly trend, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.