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 11 am and 1 time in 4 at 7 pm.

Nonstops


American	RDU	DCA	1h 20m	63%	5.1%	2,009	Flying now
Delta	RDU	DCA	1h 25m	60%	3.7%	1,001	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.


American Details →	RDU 05:01 → CLT 06:00AA 1903	2h 00m Charlotte	CLT 08:00 → DCA 09:29AA 1977	4h 32m	98%	85%
United Details →	RDU 06:30 → IAH 08:21UA 2074	1h 26m Houston	IAH 09:47 → DCA 13:57UA 2670	7h 27m	97%	85%
Delta Details →	RDU 05:33 → DTW 07:18DL 1388	2h 47m Detroit	DTW 10:05 → DCA 11:34DL 2476	6h 01m	98%	82%
Southwest Details →	RDU 05:05 → HOU 06:50WN 4771	1h 25m Houston	HOU 08:15 → DCA 12:20WN 1701	7h 15m	97%	80%
Delta Details →	RDU 07:00 → BOS 09:02DL 1054	1h 23m Boston	BOS 10:25 → DCA 12:12DL 5592 · flown by Republic	5h 12m	97%	79%
Southwest Details →	RDU 06:25 → STL 07:30WN 3435	1h 00m St Louis	STL 08:30 → DCA 11:25WN 3905	5h 00m	93%	78%
American Details →	RDU 05:01 → MIA 07:12AA 1088	50m Miami	MIA 08:02 → DCA 10:38AA 1299	5h 37m	87%	77%
American Details →	RDU 05:16 → DFW 07:27AA 2605	1h 23m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 08:50 → DCA 12:52AA 1177	7h 36m	95%	77%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	RDU 20:08 → CLT 21:24AA 2394	1h 04m Charlotte	CLT 22:28 → DCA 23:53AA 1269	3h 46m	56%	33%
American Details →	RDU 16:15 → CLT 17:34AA 2402	48m Charlotte	CLT 18:22 → DCA 20:00AA 2386	3h 45m	58%	31%
United Details →	RDU 17:12 → ORD 18:42UA 630	1h 03m Chicago	ORD 19:45 → DCA 22:54UA 2160	5h 42m	49%	26%

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

EWR · 1h 20m · leaves 06:00 4%

STL · 1h 00m · leaves 06:25 7%

ORD · 1h 19m · leaves 10:00 9%

Afternoon and evening

ATL · 54m · leaves 18:27 47%

ORD · 1h 03m · leaves 17:12 51%

DFW · 52m · leaves 16:53 52%

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.


Southwest WN 3430 RDU 07:15 → MCO American AA 2088 MCO 10:40 → DCA Connection details →	1h 45m	5h 44m	95%	87%
Delta DL 1054 RDU 07:00 → BOS American AA 4349 BOS 11:52 → DCA Connection details →	2h 50m	6h 44m	98%	78%
Delta DL 4689 RDU 06:00 → LGA American AA 4654 LGA 10:47 → DCA Connection details →	3h 04m	6h 17m	96%	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