Sun, Oct 4 has passed, so this is the 12-month record.

Itineraries flown on 20+ days in the Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026 schedule · each leg’s record Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

The best bet has a stop: Southwest via Midway (7h 05m) reaches Washington on time 95% of the time, against 70% on the nonstop.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Alaska	SAN	DCA	5h 18m	70%	1.1%	364	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Washington on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Washington is 3 h ahead of San Diego). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest Details →	SAN 22:40 → MDW 04:40WN 257	1h 20m Chicago	MDW 06:00 → DCA 08:45 +1WN 4976	7h 05m	100%	95%
American Details →	SAN 21:25 → CLT 05:12AA 1860	2h 48m Charlotte	CLT 08:00 → DCA 09:29 +1AA 1977	9h 08m	99%	88%
United Details →	SAN 22:25 → ORD 04:36UA 1457	1h 24m Chicago	ORD 06:00 → DCA 08:54 +1UA 1077	7h 29m	97%	88%
American Details →	SAN 22:25 → MIA 06:36AA 1480	1h 26m Miami	MIA 08:02 → DCA 10:38 +1AA 1299	9h 13m	93%	84%
Delta Details →	SAN 21:54 → BOS 06:30DL 571	3h 55m Boston	BOS 10:25 → DCA 12:12 +1DL 5592 · flown by Republic	11h 18m	98%	83%
Delta Details →	SAN 22:00 → JFK 06:26DL 709	2h 09m New York	JFK 08:35 → DCA 10:02 +1DL 5750 · flown by Republic	9h 02m	95%	81%
Delta Details →	SAN 06:15 → SLC 09:22DL 1117	1h 08m Salt Lake City	SLC 10:30 → DCA 16:37DL 820	7h 22m	97%	81%
American Details →	SAN 19:15 → PHX 20:44AA 2466	3h 08m Phoenix	PHX 23:52 → DCA 07:14 +1AA 1542	8h 59m	93%	80%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	SAN 13:19 → CLT 21:20AA 2465	1h 08m Charlotte	CLT 22:28 → DCA 23:53AA 1269	7h 35m	75%	46%
American Details →	SAN 11:07 → DFW 16:28AA 2476	47m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 17:15 → DCA 21:31AA 472	7h 24m	61%	37%
American Details →	SAN 13:07 → ORD 19:54AA 811	1h 01m Chicago	ORD 20:55 → DCA 23:59AA 1187	7h 52m	75%	36%

Same layover, different day-part

How often the first flight arrives too late to connect (45 min minimum), for one-ticket layovers of 45–80 minutes.

Morning

SLC · 1h 08m · leaves 06:15 3%

LAS · 55m · leaves 06:35 6%

BNA · 55m · leaves 22:40 7%

Afternoon and evening

ORD · 1h 10m · leaves 13:19 23%

CLT · 1h 08m · leaves 13:19 25%

DFW · 47m · leaves 11:07 39%

Delays build through the day, so an afternoon first leg eats the layover. A short connection is fine early in the morning and a gamble later on.

Mixing airlines

One ticketMiss it and the airline rebooks you; bags go through. 45 min is enough.

Separate ticketsMiss it and you buy a new ticket. Re-check bags, clear security again: we require 90 min.


Alaska AS 255 SAN 20:52 → BOS American AA 1605 BOS 09:18 → DCA Connection details →	3h 38m	11h 07m	100%	90%
JetBlue B6 2120 SAN 20:40 → BOS American AA 1550 BOS 08:19 → DCA Connection details →	2h 59m	10h 21m	96%	86%
Southwest WN 4173 SAN 18:55 → PHX American AA 1542 PHX 23:52 → DCA Connection details →	3h 37m	9h 19m	96%	84%

Rank all connections, any airlines →

Regional partners count as the airline that sells them: SkyWest flying Delta Connection is one Delta ticket.

How these are worked out. Makes the connection: share of the last year’s flights where the first flight arrived with at least 45 minutes to spare (90 on separate tickets). Arrives on time: first flight not cancelled × connection made × second flight not cancelled and arriving within 15 minutes. Not yet counted: the second flight also leaving late (which helps), gate-to-gate distance at the hub, and rebooking after a missed connection.

About this data: US DOT on-time records, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, all US airlines; regional flights count under the airline that sells them. Schedules (which flights and connections exist, and their times) are as of Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026; seasonal flights outside that window aren’t ranked. Rebuilt monthly. JSON