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 3% of the time at 8 am and 1 time in 3 at 5 pm.

Nonstops


Southwest	DCA	STL	2h 20m	76%	1.4%	1,402	Flying now
American	DCA	STL	2h 30m	71%	3.9%	1,012	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach St Louis on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (St Louis 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	2h 12m Chicago	ORD 10:40 → STL 12:11UA 1355	5h 56m	100%	89%
Delta Details →	DCA 09:00 → ATL 10:52DL 455	3h 17m Atlanta	ATL 14:09 → STL 14:48DL 2700	6h 50m	98%	85%
American Details →	DCA 08:25 → ORD 10:00AA 4360 · flown by Republic	2h 32m Chicago	ORD 12:32 → STL 13:55AA 3815 · flown by Envoy	6h 30m	100%	85%
American Details →	DCA 05:00 → CLT 06:26AA 365	1h 10m Charlotte	CLT 07:36 → STL 08:32AA 2733	4h 32m	95%	85%
United Details →	DCA 06:00 → EWR 07:19UA 4167 · flown by GoJet	2h 34m Newark	EWR 09:53 → STL 11:41UA 3630 · flown by Republic	6h 41m	98%	84%
Southwest Details →	DCA 06:00 → MCO 08:20WN 4580	2h 50m Orlando	MCO 11:10 → STL 12:40WN 3316	7h 40m	100%	82%
Delta Details →	DCA 06:00 → DTW 07:30DL 2869	1h 20m Detroit	DTW 08:50 → STL 09:32DL 2868	4h 32m	95%	81%
United Details →	DCA 10:58 → IAH 13:19UA 2190	2h 12m Houston	IAH 15:31 → STL 17:42UA 6160 · flown by Mesa	7h 44m	97%	81%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	DCA 08:30 → CLT 10:13AA 1518	47m Charlotte	CLT 11:00 → STL 11:59AA 2717	4h 28m	74%	59%
Delta Details →	DCA 18:25 → ATL 20:30DL 850	1h 03m Atlanta	ATL 21:33 → STL 22:15DL 2833	4h 53m	70%	51%
American Details →	DCA 15:52 → ORD 17:25AA 3254	52m Chicago	ORD 18:17 → STL 19:44AA 4144 · flown by Envoy	4h 52m	70%	37%

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

ATL · 1h 16m · leaves 06:00 3%

DFW · 1h 15m · leaves 06:59 4%

ORD · 1h 14m · leaves 06:30 4%

Afternoon and evening

IAH · 1h 03m · leaves 16:59 31%

ORD · 1h 03m · leaves 15:30 32%

BNA · 1h 08m · leaves 19:30 47%

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.


American AA 3976 DCA 08:20 → ATL Delta DL 2700 ATL 14:09 → STL Connection details →	3h 42m	7h 30m	98%	88%
Southwest WN 4969 DCA 06:55 → ATL Delta DL 566 ATL 11:52 → STL Connection details →	3h 02m	6h 35m	100%	82%
United UA 1061 DCA 08:25 → ORD American AA 3815 ORD 12:32 → STL Connection details →	2h 49m	6h 30m	98%	81%

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