Flights Boston → Washington
BOS → DCA
Route overview
The flight route from Boston to Washington operates with a high level of punctuality, with 78% of flights arriving on time. The average delay for the remaining flights is approximately 13.1 minutes. This busy route sees around 2323 total flights annually and utilizes aircraft such as the Airbus A319, Embraer 190, and Airbus A320. The destination airport in Washington has been operational since 1938 and currently serves over 25 million passengers per year.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Boston (BOS) → Washington (DCA) route is operated by American Airlines, JetBlue Airways. Across 3065 flights monitored in recent months, 79% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 13 minutes. The cancellation rate is 4.18%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 28.7/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Boston the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Boston (BOS) to Washington (DCA) heads south-west for about 641 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 13m.
Departures from Boston on this leg cluster in the morning window: about 37% of BOS-DCA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Boston the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 3,065 tracked BOS-DCA flights, 79% left on time with an average delay of 13 min and a 4.2% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
Check the risk of a specific flight.
Flexible on this trip? Compare flights
Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines (AA) | 74% | 16 min | 3.0% |
| JetBlue Airways (B6) | 72% | 14 min | 1.7% |
Airlines operating BOS-DCA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about BOS-DCA
On the Boston (BOS) -> Washington (DCA) route, on-time performance is 79% with an average delay of 13 minutes, based on 3065 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Boston-Washington is 4.18% across 3065 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: American Airlines, JetBlue Airways.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Washington, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
