Flights Washington → Chicago
DCA → ORD
Route overview
This flight route operates between Washington and Chicago, utilizing a mix of aircraft including the Boeing 737-800, McDonnell Douglas MD-83, Airbus A320, Boeing 737-700, and Airbus A319. With an average delay of 16.7 minutes per flight and an on-time performance rate of 80%, the route has seen a total of 1690 flights. The destination airport serves over 80 million passengers annually, making it one of the busiest in the country.
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 Washington (DCA) → Chicago (ORD) route is operated by American Airlines, United Airlines. Across 2200 flights monitored in recent months, 81% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 16 minutes. The cancellation rate is 4.14%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 25.4/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Chicago: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Washington (DCA) to Chicago (ORD) heads north-west for about 983 km, a flight time of roughly 1h 39m.
Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the morning window: about 38% of DCA-ORD flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Chicago it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 2,200 tracked DCA-ORD flights, 81% left on time with an average delay of 16 min and a 4.1% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines (UA) | 74% | 10 min | 6.9% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 74% | 16 min | 3.0% |
Airlines operating DCA-ORD
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DCA-ORD
On the Washington (DCA) -> Chicago (ORD) route, on-time performance is 81% with an average delay of 16 minutes, based on 2200 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Washington-Chicago is 4.14% across 2200 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 2 airlines: American Airlines, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Chicago, 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.
