Washington to Syracuse

What the Data Says About DCA to SYR

The Washington to Syracuse corridor (DCA → SYR) covers roughly 298 miles and is served by 20 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,109 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 67.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,202 flights were recorded on this pairing — 93 cancelled (4.2%) and 4 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 20 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 5,109 total flights analyzed, the 79.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 67.0-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 93% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at 56% on-time — a 37-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DCA to SYR route, the combination of a 79.4% on-time rate, 67.0-minute average delay, 4.2% recent cancellation rate, and 20 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.