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Route Reliability

Washington → San Francisco

DCA–SFO · 2,442 miles · Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to San Francisco International Airport

78
Usually Fine
WanderNerd Reliability Score
76%
Arrive within 15 minutes
8 min
Average arrival delay
1.1%
Cancelled
1,092
Flights in the data

Data through May 2026.

Who flies it best

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

  1. 1.United Airlines79%729 flights
  2. 2.Alaska Airlines70%363 flights

What the data says

Morning-you made the right choice.

DCA–SFO flights departing between 6–9 AM arrived on time 89% of the time, versus 67% between 3–6 PM.

Thursdays have been rough.

DCA–SFO flights arrived on time 86% of the time on Saturdays and just 69% on Thursdays. That gap is worth planning around.

United Airlines runs this route best.

United Airlines arrived on time 79% of the time on this route; Alaska Airlines managed 70%.

Best historical flights

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

Top flights by on-time rate

The breakdown

On-time by weekday
  • Mon77%(152 flights)
  • Tue80%(156 flights)
  • Wed73%(154 flights)
  • Thu69%(154 flights)
  • Fri70%(154 flights)
  • Sat86%(152 flights)
  • Sun75%(156 flights)
On-time by departure window
  • 6–9 AM89%(362 flights)
  • 3–6 PM67%(343 flights)
  • 6–9 PM70%(373 flights)
On-time trend by month
65%
May

Jun 66% → May 65% on time

On-time arrival percentage by month
MonthOn-time percentageFlights
June 202566%88
July 202565%88
August 202586%93
September 202585%89
October 202570%93
November 202583%89
December 202574%93
January 202688%88
February 202666%83
March 202685%93
April 202674%88
May 202665%93

Same trip, other airports

Keep nerding

Based on 1,092 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.