New York to Washington

What the Data Says About LGA to DCA

The New York to Washington corridor (LGA → DCA) covers roughly 214 miles and is served by 7 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 28,793 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 79.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 8,974 flights were recorded on this pairing — 320 cancelled (3.6%) and 13 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 7 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 28,793 total flights analyzed, the 82.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 79.8-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, Mar 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 57% on-time — a 35-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the LGA to DCA route, the combination of a 82.8% on-time rate, 79.8-minute average delay, 3.6% recent cancellation rate, and 7 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.