Dallas/Fort Worth to Washington

What the Data Says About DFW to DCA

The Dallas/Fort Worth to Washington corridor (DFW → DCA) covers roughly 1,192 miles and is served by 3 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 17,801 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 72.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 6,709 flights were recorded on this pairing — 168 cancelled (2.5%) and 39 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 17,801 total flights analyzed, the 78.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 72.0-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, Jan 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 86% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 58% on-time — a 28-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DFW to DCA route, the combination of a 78.6% on-time rate, 72.0-minute average delay, 2.5% recent cancellation rate, and 3 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.