Manchester to Washington

What the Data Says About MHT to DCA

The Manchester to Washington corridor (MHT → DCA) covers roughly 406 miles and is served by 7 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,512 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 78.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 91.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,506 flights were recorded on this pairing — 106 cancelled (4.2%) and 11 diverted (0.4%). 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 5,512 total flights analyzed, the 78.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 91.5-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 94% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at 59% on-time — a 35-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MHT to DCA route, the combination of a 78.9% on-time rate, 91.5-minute average delay, 4.2% recent cancellation rate, and 7 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.