Detroit to Washington

What the Data Says About DTW to DCA

The Detroit to Washington corridor (DTW → DCA) covers roughly 405 miles and is served by 26 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 14,879 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.7% on-time rate with an average delay of 80.2 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,524 flights were recorded on this pairing — 121 cancelled (2.2%) and 22 diverted (0.4%). 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 14,879 total flights analyzed, the 82.7% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 80.2-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 91% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at 59% on-time — a 32-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DTW to DCA route, the combination of a 82.7% on-time rate, 80.2-minute average delay, 2.2% recent cancellation rate, and 26 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.