Rochester to Washington

What the Data Says About ROC to DCA

The Rochester to Washington corridor (ROC → DCA) covers roughly 296 miles and is served by 11 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 4,904 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80% on-time rate with an average delay of 92.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,227 flights were recorded on this pairing — 74 cancelled (3.3%) and 4 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 11 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 4,904 total flights analyzed, the 80% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 92.7-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, Mar 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 98% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at 58% on-time — a 40-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the ROC to DCA route, the combination of a 80% on-time rate, 92.7-minute average delay, 3.3% recent cancellation rate, and 11 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.