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 90-minute layover misses 3% of the time at 8 am and 37% of the time at 4 pm.

Nonstops


United	DCA	ORD	2h 20m	76%	3.1%	4,083	Flying now
American	DCA	ORD	2h 26m	75%	3.9%	2,965	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


American Details →	DCA 07:29 → DAY 09:04AA 5159 · flown by PSA	3h 25m Dayton	DAY 12:29 → ORD 12:54AA 3786 · flown by Envoy	6h 25m	100%	96%
American Details →	DCA 07:45 → MCO 10:14AA 3273	1h 24m Orlando	MCO 11:38 → ORD 13:45AA 2067	7h 00m	97%	89%
American Details →	DCA 06:55 → BOS 08:34AA 1605	1h 55m Boston	BOS 10:29 → ORD 12:30AA 3022	6h 34m	100%	88%
American Details →	DCA 08:00 → BOS 09:35AA 1556	2h 26m Boston	BOS 12:01 → ORD 14:02AA 1610	7h 02m	98%	87%
American Details →	DCA 07:16 → SDF 09:12AA 5227 · flown by PSA	1h 53m Louisville	SDF 11:05 → ORD 11:44AA 4704 · flown by Republic	5h 28m	96%	86%
Delta Details →	DCA 06:00 → DTW 07:30DL 2869	2h 45m Detroit	DTW 10:15 → ORD 10:50DL 3673 · flown by SkyWest	5h 50m	98%	85%
American Details →	DCA 07:29 → CMH 09:01AA 4627 · flown by Republic	1h 21m Columbus	CMH 10:22 → ORD 11:00AA 4953 · flown by SkyWest	4h 32m	94%	85%
American Details →	DCA 06:59 → BNA 08:05AA 4358 · flown by Republic	2h 37m Nashville	BNA 10:42 → ORD 12:38AA 3439 · flown by Envoy	6h 39m	100%	85%
Tight connection: often missed
United Details →	DCA 17:55 → EWR 19:28UA 4180 · flown by GoJet	51m Newark	EWR 20:19 → ORD 22:06UA 546	5h 11m	51%	30%
American Details →	DCA 14:59 → JAX 17:08AA 2816	50m Jacksonville	JAX 17:58 → ORD 19:59AA 3317	6h 00m	59%	30%
American Details →	DCA 15:18 → DFW 17:49AA 1624	49m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:38 → ORD 21:22AA 1424	7h 04m	74%	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

DFW · 1h 08m · leaves 05:00 3%

BOS · 1h 19m · leaves 06:00 3%

ATL · 1h 14m · leaves 06:00 3%

Afternoon and evening

RDU · 1h 01m · leaves 16:44 52%

STL · 49m · leaves 14:59 55%

ATL · 51m · leaves 14:20 75%

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.


Delta DL 2869 DCA 06:00 → DTW American AA 4103 DTW 10:33 → ORD Connection details →	3h 03m	6h 08m	97%	89%
Southwest WN 358 DCA 06:00 → MCI United UA 5504 MCI 09:34 → ORD Connection details →	1h 54m	6h 29m	100%	88%
Southwest WN 4580 DCA 06:00 → MCO United UA 2466 MCO 10:52 → ORD Connection details →	2h 32m	8h 02m	98%	88%

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