Madison to Washington

What the Data Says About MSN to DCA

The Madison to Washington corridor (MSN → DCA) covers roughly 707 miles and is served by 5 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 2,496 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 93.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,002 flights were recorded on this pairing — 47 cancelled (2.3%) and 18 diverted (0.9%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 5 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 2,496 total flights analyzed, the 79.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 93.0-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, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 95% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at 54% on-time — a 41-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MSN to DCA route, the combination of a 79.3% on-time rate, 93.0-minute average delay, 2.3% recent cancellation rate, and 5 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.