Providence to Washington

What the Data Says About PVD to DCA

The Providence to Washington corridor (PVD → DCA) covers roughly 356 miles and is served by 26 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 12,378 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.1% on-time rate with an average delay of 84.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,090 flights were recorded on this pairing — 172 cancelled (3.4%) and 9 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 26 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 12,378 total flights analyzed, the 82.1% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 84.7-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 94% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at 63% on-time — a 31-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the PVD to DCA route, the combination of a 82.1% on-time rate, 84.7-minute average delay, 3.4% recent cancellation rate, and 26 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.