Chicago to Washington

What the Data Says About ORD to DCA

The Chicago to Washington corridor (ORD → DCA) covers roughly 612 miles and is served by 35 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 33,643 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 79% on-time rate with an average delay of 79.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 12,912 flights were recorded on this pairing — 262 cancelled (2.0%) and 72 diverted (0.6%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 35 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 33,643 total flights analyzed, the 79% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 79.5-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, Nov 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 86% on-time, while May 2024 came in at 59% on-time — a 27-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ORD to DCA route, the combination of a 79% on-time rate, 79.5-minute average delay, 2.0% recent cancellation rate, and 35 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.