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 1 time in 10 at 9 am and 45% of the time at 8 pm.

Nonstops


Delta	DTW	DCA	1h 34m	70%	2.6%	1,755	Flying now
American	DTW	DCA	1h 43m	69%	5.7%	1,222	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. Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	DTW 06:15 → IAH 08:11UA 1229	1h 36m Houston	IAH 09:47 → DCA 13:57UA 2670	7h 42m	100%	88%
Delta Details →	DTW 07:01 → MSP 07:55DL 1746	2h 31m Minneapolis	MSP 10:26 → DCA 13:48DL 2983	6h 48m	97%	81%
United Details →	DTW 06:00 → ORD 06:26UA 4754 · flown by SkyWest	3h 34m Chicago	ORD 10:00 → DCA 13:04UA 1381	7h 04m	98%	80%
Southwest Details →	DTW 07:00 → STL 07:35WN 1783	55m St Louis	STL 08:30 → DCA 11:25WN 3905	4h 25m	96%	80%
Delta Details →	DTW 07:05 → BOS 09:07DL 1163	1h 18m Boston	BOS 10:25 → DCA 12:12DL 5592 · flown by Republic	5h 07m	96%	80%
United Details →	DTW 05:30 → ORD 05:53UA 3483 · flown by Republic	2h 07m Chicago	ORD 08:00 → DCA 11:01UA 382	5h 31m	100%	79%
Delta Details →	DTW 05:17 → ATL 07:10DL 2375	3h 50m Atlanta	ATL 11:00 → DCA 12:42DL 737	7h 25m	99%	78%
American Details →	DTW 05:37 → DFW 07:32AA 1108	2h 24m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 09:56 → DCA 13:59AA 1624	8h 21m	98%	77%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	DTW 15:52 → DFW 17:50AA 1793	1h 03m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:53 → DCA 22:59AA 2752	7h 08m	70%	40%
Delta Details →	DTW 16:00 → ATL 18:04DL 1467	51m Atlanta	ATL 18:55 → DCA 20:48DL 325	4h 48m	67%	39%
United Details →	DTW 18:20 → ORD 18:57UA 5264 · flown by SkyWest	48m Chicago	ORD 19:45 → DCA 22:54UA 2160	4h 34m	46%	23%

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

STL · 55m · leaves 07:00 4%

BOS · 1h 18m · leaves 07:05 4%

EWR · 1h 15m · leaves 06:00 6%

Afternoon and evening

MSP · 52m · leaves 18:10 34%

MCO · 52m · leaves 16:48 45%

ORD · 48m · leaves 18:20 54%

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 1163 DTW 07:05 → BOS American AA 4349 BOS 11:52 → DCA Connection details →	2h 45m	6h 39m	99%	80%
American AA 6465 DTW 06:45 → ORD United UA 1381 ORD 10:00 → DCA Connection details →	2h 30m	6h 19m	94%	78%
Delta DL 4456 DTW 07:30 → ORD American AA 4809 ORD 10:45 → DCA Connection details →	2h 46m	6h 29m	97%	78%

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