Route Reliability
San Francisco → Washington
SFO–IAD · 2,418 miles · San Francisco International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport
- 83%
- Arrive within 15 minutes
- 1 min
- Average arrival delay
- 0.7%
- Cancelled
- 2,829
- Flights in the data
Data through May 2026.
Who flies it best
Ranked by on-time arrivals. Historical results, not predictions.
- 1.United Airlines85%2,671 flights
- 2.Alaska Airlines50%158 flights
What the data says
The 12–3 AM departure wins.
SFO–IAD flights departing between 12–3 AM arrived on time 87% of the time, versus 76% between 9 AM–12 PM.
Tuesday has been the better bet.
A small edge: 84% on time on Tuesdays against 81% on Saturdays.
United Airlines has a clear lead on this route.
United Airlines arrived on time 85% of the time on this route; Alaska Airlines managed 50%.
Slipping a little lately.
SFO–IAD flights arrived on time 85% of the time over the last three months in the data, compared with 89% 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
- Mon84%(407 flights)
- Tue84%(378 flights)
- Wed81%(396 flights)
- Thu83%(408 flights)
- Fri84%(412 flights)
- Sat81%(389 flights)
- Sun82%(413 flights)
- 12–3 AM87%(55 flights)
- 6–9 AM87%(516 flights)
- 9 AM–12 PM76%(443 flights)
- 12–3 PM76%(419 flights)
- 3–6 PM86%(302 flights)
- 9 PM–12 AM85%(1068 flights)
Jun 71% → May 84% on time
| Month | On-time percentage | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| June 2025 | 71% | 272 |
| July 2025 | 66% | 264 |
| August 2025 | 80% | 251 |
| September 2025 | 83% | 206 |
| October 2025 | 90% | 246 |
| November 2025 | 86% | 228 |
| December 2025 | 87% | 245 |
| January 2026 | 89% | 201 |
| February 2026 | 92% | 189 |
| March 2026 | 87% | 203 |
| April 2026 | 84% | 230 |
| May 2026 | 84% | 268 |
Same trip, other airports
Keep nerding
Based on 2,829 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.