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Route Reliability

Washington → Chicago

DCA–ORD · 612 miles · Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Chicago O'Hare International Airport

66
Usually Fine
WanderNerd Reliability Score
75%
Arrive within 15 minutes
14 min
Average arrival delay
3.4%
Cancelled
6,922
Flights in the data

Data through May 2026.

Who flies it best

Ranked by on-time arrivals. Historical results, not predictions.

  1. 1.American Airlines75%2,890 flights
  2. 2.United Airlines75%4,032 flights

What the data says

Morning flights do better here.

DCA–ORD flights departing between 3–6 AM arrived on time 94% of the time, versus 59% between 6–9 PM.

Friday is doing you no favors.

DCA–ORD flights arrived on time 80% of the time on Saturdays. On Fridays: 71%.

Not much between American Airlines and United Airlines.

On this route they all land within 75% to 75% on time. Pick on schedule and price.

Keep a backup plan handy.

This route was cancelled 3.4% of the time. Typical for U.S. flights is around 1–2%.

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
  • Mon77%(987 flights)
  • Tue79%(997 flights)
  • Wed72%(995 flights)
  • Thu76%(992 flights)
  • Fri71%(992 flights)
  • Sat80%(693 flights)
  • Sun72%(1010 flights)
On-time by departure window
  • 3–6 AM94%(35 flights)
  • 6–9 AM88%(1504 flights)
  • 9 AM–12 PM84%(1097 flights)
  • 12–3 PM80%(1410 flights)
  • 3–6 PM61%(1303 flights)
  • 6–9 PM59%(1143 flights)
  • 9 PM–12 AM69%(174 flights)
On-time trend by month
76%
May

Jun 72% → May 76% on time

On-time arrival percentage by month
MonthOn-time percentageFlights
June 202572%551
July 202566%550
August 202578%564
September 202577%575
October 202576%593
November 202574%534
December 202575%546
January 202677%537
February 202678%523
March 202673%550
April 202677%543
May 202676%600

Same trip, other airports

Keep nerding

Based on 6,922 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.