Route profile
LAX→DCA
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Los Angeles to Washington, 2,311 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 62% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 4,495 flights. How this is calculated
LAX → DCA arrives on time 80.1% of the time; the return trip, DCA → LAX, arrives on time 78.3% of the time.
LAX → DCA spends 24.8 minutes on the ground on a 2,311-mile trip: 18.7 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at LAX and 6.0 minutes from touchdown to gate at DCA.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What sets this route apart
Where LAX to DCA differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
LAX to DCA struggles most at 1 PM: 71.5% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 4.2 points behind the 75.7% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 5.6 points.
LAX to DCA holds up on Saturdays better than routes of similar length do: 85.1% on time to their 78.9%, a 6.2 points lead. Against all other routes the gap is 6 points.
In March, LAX to DCA runs 5.6 points below routes of similar length, 73.7% on time to 79.3%.
December is kinder to LAX to DCA than to routes of similar length: 84.0% on time against 79.2%, 4.8 points better. Against all other routes the gap is 5.2 points.
Alaska Airlines’ flights on LAX to DCA arrive on time 72.6% of the time, 3.8 points below the 76.4% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 5.4 points.
LAX to DCA against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 1 PM departures | 71.5% | routes of similar length | 75.7% | −4.2 pts | 890 here, 55,258 there |
| Weekday: Saturday | 85.1% | routes of similar length | 78.9% | +6.2 pts | 625 here, 154,861 there |
| Month: March | 73.7% | routes of similar length | 79.3% | −5.6 pts | 369 here, 90,836 there |
| Month: December | 84.0% | routes of similar length | 79.2% | +4.8 pts | 368 here, 90,611 there |
| Airline: Alaska Airlines | 72.6% | routes of similar length | 76.4% | −3.8 pts | 1,103 here, 162,589 there |
Each comparison pools the flights of other routes, with this route’s own left out. Similar length means within 15% of this route’s 2,311 miles, with at least 5 such routes. A bucket is set against the most comparable group that has enough flights: similar length, then the same origin (at least 3 routes), then all other routes. Hours, weekdays and months appear only where both sides have 120 completed flights, and airlines where both have 600. The gap must be at least 2 points and 2 standard errors, and only the largest gap each way is kept per measure. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
39 min late
against a median of 9 min early
Percentiles over 4,495 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at DCA after arriving from LAX.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 34% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 19% | High risk |
| 60 min | 12% | Some risk |
| 90 min | 6.8% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 4.5% | Low risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 1.02% of the time and diverts 0.93% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 4,407 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 39 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 4,495 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
LAX → DCA flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 86.3% of the time, against 73.5% for 12–3 PM departures, a gap of 12.8 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 6 AM: too few flights to score
- 7 AM: 86.3% on time from 1,130 flights
- 8 AM: 86.3% on time from 1,117 flights
- 9 AM to 10 AM: too few flights to score
- 11 AM: 78.7% on time from 177 flights
- 12 PM: 75.1% on time from 1,168 flights
- 1 PM: 71.5% on time from 902 flights
- 2 PM to 11 PM: too few flights to score
Departure windows with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
Why LAX → DCA runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for LAX → DCA. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 2,251 | 81.8% | 0.84% | -9 min | 6.0% |
| Alaska Airlines | 1,123 | 72.6% | 1.07% | -3 min | 10.0% |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,121 | 84.3% | 1.34% | -13 min | 5.7% |
American Airlines flew 50.1% of the 4,495 flights listed.
Delta Air Lines arrived on time 11.7 percentage points more often than Alaska Airlines on this route.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Saturday is historically the most reliable day and Friday the least, a gap of 8.5 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 84.3%
- Feb: 77.2%
- Mar: 73.7%
- Apr: 79.3%
- May: 79.0%
- Jun: 76.7%
- Jul: 74.7%
- Aug: 81.3%
- Sep: 83.1%
- Oct: 85.2%
- Nov: 84.4%
- Dec: 84.0%
March is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 11.5 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 83.7% from 124 flights
- August 2023: 81.1% from 124 flights
- September 2023: 86.4% from 120 flights
- October 2023: 83.9% from 124 flights
- November 2023: too few flights to score (118)
- December 2023: 84.6% from 124 flights
- January 2024: 82.4% from 124 flights
- February 2024: too few flights to score (116)
- March 2024: 74.2% from 124 flights
- April 2024: 84.9% from 120 flights
- May 2024: 74.8% from 124 flights
- June 2024: too few flights to score (119)
- July 2024: 77.5% from 124 flights
- August 2024: 78.5% from 124 flights
- September 2024: too few flights to score (119)
- October 2024: 82.3% from 124 flights
- November 2024: too few flights to score (118)
- December 2024: 82.9% from 123 flights
- January 2025: 86.1% from 124 flights
- February 2025: too few flights to score (112)
- March 2025: 71.8% from 124 flights
- April 2025: 70.6% from 120 flights
- May 2025: 77.0% from 124 flights
- June 2025: 71.9% from 120 flights
- July 2025: 67.5% from 124 flights
- August 2025: 84.3% from 124 flights
- September 2025: 81.4% from 120 flights
- October 2025: 89.5% from 124 flights
- November 2025: too few flights to score (118)
- December 2025: 84.4% from 123 flights
- January 2026: 84.5% from 124 flights
- February 2026: too few flights to score (112)
- March 2026: 75.2% from 124 flights
- April 2026: 82.4% from 120 flights
- May 2026: 85.1% from 124 flights
- June 2026: 77.6% from 120 flights
- July 2026: 69.3% from 121 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 80.3% against 77.4% in the 12 months before — improving by 2.9 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 4,495 LAX → DCA flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed