Syracuse to Washington

What the Data Says About SYR to DCA

The Syracuse to Washington corridor (SYR → DCA) covers roughly 298 miles and is served by 20 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,114 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 81.3% on-time rate with an average delay of 94.0 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,203 flights were recorded on this pairing — 87 cancelled (3.9%) and 4 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 20 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 5,114 total flights analyzed, the 81.3% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 94.0-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 93% on-time, while Nov 2025 came in at 54% on-time — a 39-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the SYR to DCA route, the combination of a 81.3% on-time rate, 94.0-minute average delay, 3.9% recent cancellation rate, and 20 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.