Flights Los Angeles → Washington
LAX → DCA
Route overview
This flight route operates from Los Angeles to Washington, using Boeing 737-800 aircraft. With an average delay of 15.4 minutes and an on-time performance rate of 81%, the service maintains a relatively high punctuality despite operating over a busy corridor between two major cities.
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 Los Angeles (LAX) → Washington (DCA) route is operated by American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines. Across 480 flights monitored in recent months, 82% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 14 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.04%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 16.7/100 (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 Los Angeles the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Los Angeles (LAX) to Washington (DCA) heads east for about 3,711 km, a flight time of roughly 5h 4m.
Departures from Los Angeles on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 92% of LAX-DCA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Los Angeles the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 480 tracked LAX-DCA flights, 82% left on time with an average delay of 14 min and a 1.0% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines (DL) | 80% | 8 min | 1.8% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 74% | 16 min | 3.0% |
| Alaska Airlines (AS) | 67% | 10 min | 11.9% |
Airlines operating LAX-DCA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about LAX-DCA
On the Los Angeles (LAX) -> Washington (DCA) route, on-time performance is 82% with an average delay of 14 minutes, based on 480 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Los Angeles-Washington is 1.04% across 480 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 3 airlines: American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines.
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.
