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Route Reliability

Washington → Buffalo

DCA–BUF · 296 miles · Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Buffalo Niagara International Airport

46
Bring Snacks
WanderNerd Reliability Score
66%
Arrive within 15 minutes
21 min
Average arrival delay
5.5%
Cancelled
1,188
Flights in the data

Data through May 2026.

American Airlines is the only airline in this data on this route, arriving on time 66% of the time across 1,188 flights. No comparison to make.

What the data says

The late departure is the smart one here.

DCA–BUF flights departing between 6–9 PM arrived on time 88% of the time, versus 52% between 9 PM–12 AM.

Friday is doing you no favors.

DCA–BUF flights arrived on time 75% of the time on Saturdays and just 58% on Fridays. That gap is worth planning around.

Keep a backup plan handy.

This route was cancelled 5.5% of the time. Typical for U.S. flights is around 1–2%.

Trending in the right direction.

DCA–BUF flights arrived on time 65% of the time over the last three months in the data, compared with 56% in the three months before that.

Best historical flights

Ranked by on-time arrivals, minimum 100 flights. Past performance, not a promise.

Top flights by on-time rate

More flights on this route

The breakdown

On-time by weekday
  • Mon74%(159 flights)
  • Tue64%(166 flights)
  • Wed69%(160 flights)
  • Thu61%(163 flights)
  • Fri58%(165 flights)
  • Sat75%(143 flights)
  • Sun65%(166 flights)
On-time by departure window
  • 9 AM–12 PM75%(359 flights)
  • 12–3 PM74%(133 flights)
  • 3–6 PM63%(322 flights)
  • 6–9 PM88%(34 flights)
  • 9 PM–12 AM52%(274 flights)
On-time trend by month
64%
May

Jun 68% → May 64% on time

On-time arrival percentage by month
MonthOn-time percentageFlights
June 202568%100
July 202563%105
August 202574%117
September 202581%116
October 202577%95
November 202558%84
December 202561%83
January 202657%81
February 202651%79
March 202657%84
April 202674%87
May 202664%91

Same trip, other airports

Keep nerding

Based on 1,188 historical flights, because apparently we checked. Historical flight data: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, June 2025 – May 2026. Data through May 2026. How we calculate this.