Itineraries flown on 20+ days in the Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026 schedule · each leg’s record Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 73% on time.

Nonstops


Southwest	PVD	DCA	1h 35m	79%	1.9%	670	Flying now
American	PVD	DCA	1h 39m	71%	5.2%	1,754	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 →	PVD 06:00 → ORD 08:00UA 5786 · flown by SkyWest	2h 00m Chicago	ORD 10:00 → DCA 13:04UA 1381	7h 04m	97%	81%
Delta Details →	PVD 06:00 → ATL 08:34DL 1023	2h 26m Atlanta	ATL 11:00 → DCA 12:42DL 737	6h 42m	97%	75%
Delta Details →	PVD 05:30 → DTW 07:40DL 3626 · flown by SkyWest	2h 25m Detroit	DTW 10:05 → DCA 11:34DL 2476	6h 04m	89%	74%
American Details →	PVD 06:03 → CLT 08:15AA 1585	2h 59m Charlotte	CLT 11:14 → DCA 12:59AA 5527 · flown by PSA	6h 55m	97%	72%
American Details →	PVD 07:07 → ORD 08:59AA 360	1h 46m Chicago	ORD 10:45 → DCA 13:59AA 4809 · flown by Republic	6h 52m	92%	70%
Southwest Details →	PVD 07:40 → MDW 09:05WN 3118	3h 40m Chicago	MDW 12:45 → DCA 15:35WN 2761	7h 55m	100%	70%
Delta Details →	PVD 08:41 → ATL 11:17DL 2840	1h 52m Atlanta	ATL 13:09 → DCA 14:59DL 360	6h 18m	96%	65%
Delta Details →	PVD 17:00 → DTW 19:12DL 4040 · flown by SkyWest	2h 12m Detroit	DTW 21:24 → DCA 22:59DL 2073	5h 59m	91%	61%

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 00m · leaves 06:00 4%

CLT · 1h 06m · leaves 06:03 9%

FLL · 1h 15m · leaves 08:00 25%

Afternoon and evening

ORD · 1h 05m · leaves 17:41 16%

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 5786 PVD 06:00 → ORD American AA 4809 ORD 10:45 → DCA Connection details →	2h 45m	7h 59m	97%	77%
JetBlue B6 1129 PVD 06:00 → JFK Delta DL 5750 JFK 08:35 → DCA Connection details →	1h 31m	4h 02m	89%	76%
Southwest WN 4869 PVD 07:00 → MCO American AA 2104 MCO 12:13 → DCA Connection details →	2h 28m	7h 31m	100%	76%

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