DCA to ORD flight delays
DCA ORD Ronald Reagan Washington to Chicago O'Hare · 612 miles
19,524 flights were scheduled from DCA to ORD over July 2023 through June 2026. Of the 19,025 that made the trip, 79.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. These are arrival figures: “on time” means the flight reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Arrivals are what decide whether you make the connection, so route and airline pages are scored on them rather than on pushback.
Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics
The route in brief
- Flights in the window
- 19,524
- Arrived on time
- 79.2%
- Cancelled
- 2.4%
- Scheduled distance
- 612 miles
Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled. Diverted flights are counted with them rather than as very late arrivals, which is why the on-time share and the cancellation rate do not add up to everything that happened.
Airline by airline
Airlines with at least 100 flights on DCA–ORD, busiest first. Same route, same weather, same air traffic — which makes this the fairest comparison on the site.
| Airline | Arrived on time | Typical delay | Cancelled | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 79.3% | 85 min | 1.9% | 9,975 |
| American Airlines | 78.7% | 95 min | 2.4% | 7,467 |
| Republic Airways | 80.3% | 76 min | 4.5% | 1,492 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 79.7% | 110 min | 3.3% | 419 |
| Envoy Air | 80.9% | 81 min | 4.7% | 171 |
Month by month
July was the month to avoid on DCA–ORD: 70.3% of flights arrived on time, against 84.9% in October. Each bar pools three years of that calendar month.
| Month | Share flights that arrived on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 80.3% | 1,655 |
| February | 82.4% | 1,530 |
| March | 80.4% | 1,651 |
| April | 79.4% | 1,573 |
| May | 73.9% | 1,666 |
| June | 72.9% | 1,706 |
| July | 70.3% | 1,645 |
| August | 77% | 1,672 |
| September | 82.1% | 1,621 |
| October | 84.9% | 1,662 |
| November | 83.7% | 1,576 |
| December | 83.1% | 1,567 |
Both ends of the route
A route’s record is built out of two airports’ habits. The hour-by-hour grid for each is on its own page.
DCA to ORD in one number
DCA → ORD
When a flight on this route was late, it was late by about 89 min.
Questions about DCA to ORD
- Which airline is most reliable from DCA to ORD?
- Envoy Air — its flights on this pairing arrived on time 80.9% of the time, with 171 scheduled. American Airlines came in at 78.7% over 7,467 scheduled. Airlines with fewer than 100 flights on the route are not rated.
- What is the worst month to fly DCA to ORD?
- July, at 70.3% of arrivals on time, with 1,645 flights scheduled. October was the best of the year at 84.9%.
- How late are DCA–ORD flights when they are late?
- 89 min on average, counting only the flights that arrived 15 minutes or more behind schedule. The on-time flights are left out of that average on purpose — mixing them in would flatter it.
- How often is the DCA to ORD flight cancelled?
- 2.4% of scheduled flights on this route were cancelled, July 2023 through June 2026. Diverted flights are counted with the cancellations rather than as late arrivals.
- Are these departure or arrival numbers?
- Arrival. A flight counts as on time here if it reached the gate at ORD less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Airport pages score departures instead, because that is the number you can act on when you pick a booking time.