Dallas/Fort Worth to Washington

What the Data Says About DFW to IAD

The Dallas/Fort Worth to Washington corridor (DFW → IAD) covers roughly 1,172 miles and is served by 26 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 9,425 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 75.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,598 flights were recorded on this pairing — 61 cancelled (1.7%) and 7 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 26 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 9,425 total flights analyzed, the 79.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 75.0-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, Sep 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 89% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 64% on-time — a 24-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DFW to IAD route, the combination of a 79.5% on-time rate, 75.0-minute average delay, 1.7% recent cancellation rate, and 26 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.