Washington to Charlotte

What the Data Says About IAD to CLT

The Washington to Charlotte corridor (IAD → CLT) covers roughly 322 miles and is served by 38 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 13,287 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 83.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 87.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 4,118 flights were recorded on this pairing — 75 cancelled (1.8%) and 4 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 38 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 13,287 total flights analyzed, the 83.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 87.5-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 95% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 69% on-time — a 26-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the IAD to CLT route, the combination of a 83.5% on-time rate, 87.5-minute average delay, 1.8% recent cancellation rate, and 38 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.