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

Connect in the morning. The same 75-minute layover misses 5% of the time at 8 am and 1 time in 3 at 6 pm.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


American	DCA	DSM	2h 51m	73%	5.6%	702	Flying now

Best connections, any airlines

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Des Moines on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Des Moines is 1 h behind Washington). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Southwest + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	DCA 06:55 → ATL 08:50WN 4969	3h 35m Atlanta	ATL 12:25 → DSM 13:34DL 2094	7h 39m	100%	90%
United + Americantwo ticketsDetails →	DCA 07:15 → ORD 08:28UA 2638	3h 02m Chicago	ORD 11:30 → DSM 13:05AA 4676 · flown by Republic	6h 50m	100%	89%
Frontier + Southwesttwo ticketsDetails →	DCA 07:00 → DEN 09:07F9 685	2h 58m Denver	DEN 12:05 → DSM 14:50WN 1524	8h 50m	99%	86%
American + Unitedtwo ticketsDetails →	DCA 08:25 → ORD 10:00AA 4360 · flown by Republic	2h 59m Chicago	ORD 12:59 → DSM 14:27UA 1781	7h 02m	100%	84%
United Details →	DCA 06:30 → ORD 07:46UA 1793	56m Chicago	ORD 08:42 → DSM 10:17UA 1803	4h 47m	89%	83%
United Details →	DCA 06:00 → IAH 08:13UA 1450	3h 42m Houston	IAH 11:55 → DSM 14:10UA 6166 · flown by Mesa	9h 10m	99%	82%
Delta Details →	DCA 06:00 → ATL 07:48DL 410	1h 45m Atlanta	ATL 09:33 → DSM 10:45DL 1704	5h 46m	98%	82%
American + Deltatwo ticketsDetails →	DCA 10:30 → MSP 12:20AA 3796 · flown by Envoy	3h 20m Minneapolis	MSP 15:40 → DSM 16:54DL 4913 · flown by Endeavor	7h 24m	100%	80%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	DCA 13:42 → ATL 15:42DL 737	55m Atlanta	ATL 16:37 → DSM 17:52DL 2086	5h 05m	73%	57%
American Details →	DCA 20:06 → ORD 21:42AA 2903	49m Chicago	ORD 22:31 → DSM 00:18 +1AA 4442 · flown by Republic	4h 55m	68%	42%
United Details →	DCA 19:10 → ORD 20:32UA 1193	53m Chicago	ORD 21:25 → DSM 22:56UA 1839	4h 46m	49%	27%

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

DTW · 1h 15m · leaves 06:00 5%

ORD · 1h 11m · leaves 10:30 6%

IAH · 1h 14m · leaves 08:20 6%

Afternoon and evening

ATL · 55m · leaves 13:42 27%

ORD · 53m · leaves 19:10 51%

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.

The table above includes two-ticket connections (marked “two tickets”), held to the 90-minute minimum. One ticket only →

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