Skip to content
WanderNerd

Route Reliability

Washington → Raleigh–Durham

DCARDU · 227 miles · Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Raleigh–Durham International Airport

55
A Little Dicey
WanderNerd Reliability Score
70%
Arrive within 15 minutes
17 min
Average arrival delay
4.9%
Cancelled
2,970
Flights in the data

Data through May 2026.

Who flies it best

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

  1. 1.Delta Air Lines70%998 flights
  2. 2.American Airlines69%1,972 flights

What the data says

Morning flights do better here.

DCA–RDU flights departing between 6–9 AM arrived on time 87% of the time, versus 58% between 9 PM–12 AM.

Thursdays have been rough.

DCA–RDU flights arrived on time 79% of the time on Saturdays and just 64% on Thursdays. That gap is worth planning around.

Not much between Delta Air Lines and American Airlines.

On this route they all land within 69% to 70% on time. Pick on schedule and price.

Keep a backup plan handy.

This route was cancelled 4.9% 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
  • Mon69%(431 flights)
  • Tue74%(437 flights)
  • Wed70%(428 flights)
  • Thu64%(425 flights)
  • Fri67%(418 flights)
  • Sat79%(281 flights)
  • Sun68%(404 flights)
On-time by departure window
  • 6–9 AM87%(660 flights)
  • 9 AM–12 PM83%(331 flights)
  • 12–3 PM66%(363 flights)
  • 3–6 PM61%(638 flights)
  • 6–9 PM60%(349 flights)
  • 9 PM–12 AM58%(483 flights)
On-time trend by month
71%
May

Jun 61% → May 71% on time

On-time arrival percentage by month
MonthOn-time percentageFlights
June 202561%208
July 202566%192
August 202574%245
September 202575%255
October 202570%263
November 202571%232
December 202565%221
January 202670%226
February 202668%231
March 202666%254
April 202677%249
May 202671%248

Based on 2,970 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.