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 9 am and 1 time in 5 at 6 pm.

Nonstops


United	IAH	DCA	3h 08m	76%	0.7%	2,406	Flying now
American	IAH	DCA	3h 10m	74%	5.6%	873	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 (Washington is 1 h ahead of Houston). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	IAH 05:15 → DEN 06:47UA 1874	2h 43m Denver	DEN 09:30 → DCA 14:59UA 789	8h 44m	98%	89%
United Details →	IAH 05:04 → ORD 07:59UA 1044	2h 01m Chicago	ORD 10:00 → DCA 13:04UA 1381	7h 00m	100%	85%
American Details →	IAH 05:10 → MIA 08:51AA 1047	3h 08m Miami	MIA 11:59 → DCA 14:44AA 1606	8h 34m	99%	84%
Delta Details →	IAH 05:40 → ATL 08:43DL 1069	2h 17m Atlanta	ATL 11:00 → DCA 12:42DL 737	6h 02m	99%	77%
American Details →	IAH 05:02 → DFW 06:19AA 2551	2h 31m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 08:50 → DCA 12:52AA 1177	6h 50m	95%	75%
Delta Details →	IAH 06:30 → MSP 09:18DL 1050	1h 08m Minneapolis	MSP 10:26 → DCA 13:48DL 2983	6h 19m	91%	75%
American Details →	IAH 06:02 → DFW 07:28AA 700	2h 28m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 09:56 → DCA 13:59AA 1624	6h 56m	96%	73%
Delta Details →	IAH 05:20 → DTW 09:11DL 1389	54m Detroit	DTW 10:05 → DCA 11:34DL 2476	5h 14m	87%	73%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	IAH 14:04 → DFW 15:30AA 2512	1h 45m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 17:15 → DCA 21:31AA 472	6h 27m	69%	42%
American Details →	IAH 16:18 → DFW 17:48AA 3583 · flown by Envoy	1h 05m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:53 → DCA 22:59AA 2752	5h 42m	70%	41%
American Details →	IAH 13:36 → ORD 16:35AA 1915	1h 21m Chicago	ORD 17:56 → DCA 20:59AA 1787	6h 24m	65%	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

ORD · 1h 01m · leaves 05:04 3%

MIA · 1h 07m · leaves 05:10 6%

MSP · 1h 08m · leaves 06:30 9%

Afternoon and evening

CLT · 1h 13m · leaves 17:30 22%

MSP · 1h 09m · leaves 14:35 28%

DFW · 1h 05m · leaves 16:18 30%

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.


United UA 1044 IAH 05:04 → ORD American AA 4809 ORD 10:45 → DCA Connection details →	2h 46m	7h 55m	100%	80%
United UA 2469 IAH 08:00 → MSP Delta DL 2963 MSP 14:38 → DCA Connection details →	3h 45m	9h 09m	100%	76%
United UA 1353 IAH 07:25 → TPA American AA 2837 TPA 13:32 → DCA Connection details →	2h 47m	7h 33m	98%	73%

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