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 one-hour layover misses 6% of the time at 8 am and almost half the time at 5 pm.

Nonstops


United	DCA	IAH	3h 22m	84%	0.8%	2,406	Flying now
American	DCA	IAH	3h 37m	73%	5.5%	871	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	DCA 07:15 → ORD 08:28UA 2638	1h 57m Chicago	ORD 10:25 → IAH 13:23UA 2638	7h 08m	100%	87%
American Details →	DCA 05:00 → CLT 06:26AA 365	1h 16m Charlotte	CLT 07:42 → IAH 09:25AA 1930	5h 25m	96%	86%
United Details →	DCA 08:25 → ORD 09:43UA 1061	2h 57m Chicago	ORD 12:40 → IAH 15:40UA 1448	8h 15m	99%	85%
Delta Details →	DCA 06:59 → ATL 08:51DL 330	3h 39m Atlanta	ATL 12:30 → IAH 13:38DL 1572	7h 39m	99%	83%
United Details →	DCA 08:30 → EWR 09:52UA 4430 · flown by GoJet	2h 44m Newark	EWR 12:36 → IAH 15:34UA 2204	8h 04m	97%	83%
American Details →	DCA 08:25 → ORD 10:00AA 4360 · flown by Republic	3h 29m Chicago	ORD 13:29 → IAH 16:27AA 4426 · flown by Republic	9h 00m	100%	81%
Delta Details →	DCA 06:00 → ATL 07:48DL 410	2h 17m Atlanta	ATL 10:05 → IAH 11:18DL 1682	6h 18m	99%	78%
Delta Details →	DCA 06:00 → DTW 07:30DL 2869	1h 10m Detroit	DTW 08:40 → IAH 10:36DL 1043	5h 36m	95%	76%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	DCA 17:55 → EWR 19:28UA 4180 · flown by GoJet	1h 22m Newark	EWR 20:50 → IAH 23:43UA 2425	6h 48m	69%	45%
American Details →	DCA 15:18 → DFW 17:49AA 1624	47m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:36 → IAH 19:54AA 1392	5h 36m	72%	34%
American Details →	DCA 17:11 → DFW 19:41AA 1414	1h 29m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 21:10 → IAH 22:24AA 2209	6h 13m	74%	33%

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

DFW · 1h 13m · leaves 05:00 3%

CLT · 1h 16m · leaves 05:00 4%

ATL · 1h 14m · leaves 06:59 5%

Afternoon and evening

DTW · 1h 10m · leaves 17:29 29%

DEN · 59m · leaves 18:00 33%

ORD · 53m · leaves 15:30 45%

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.


Southwest WN 4580 DCA 06:00 → MCO United UA 1493 MCO 11:57 → IAH Connection details →	3h 37m	8h 29m	100%	93%
American AA 4360 DCA 08:25 → ORD United UA 1448 ORD 12:40 → IAH Connection details →	2h 40m	8h 15m	100%	88%
American AA 3273 DCA 07:45 → MCO United UA 2406 MCO 14:06 → IAH Connection details →	3h 52m	8h 55m	100%	87%

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