Flights Washington → Houston
DCA → IAH
How long is the flight from Washington to Houston?
The flight from Washington (DCA) to Houston (IAH) takes 2h 45m on average. That is the median time recorded across 4 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
The flight route from Washington to Houston operates with a high level of punctuality, with 84% of flights arriving on time. Over the past year, there have been 829 total flights on this route, experiencing an average delay of 12.3 minutes. The aircraft used include Boeing 737-800, Airbus A319, Boeing 737-700, Airbus A320, and Boeing 757-200, serving the destination airport which handles over 40 million passengers annually.
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) → Houston (IAH) route is operated by United Airlines. Across 1969 flights monitored in recent months, 80% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 16 minutes. The cancellation rate is 2.29%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 26/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Houston the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Washington the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Houston: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Washington (DCA) to Houston (IAH) heads south-west for about 1,942 km, a flight time of roughly 2h 45m.
Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the morning window: about 42% of DCA-IAH flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Houston it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 1,969 tracked DCA-IAH flights, 80% left on time with an average delay of 16 min and a 2.3% 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) | 83% | 5 min | 1.3% |
Airlines operating DCA-IAH
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DCA-IAH
The flight from Washington (DCA) to Houston (IAH) takes 2h 45m on average. That is the median time recorded across 4 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the Washington (DCA) -> Houston (IAH) route, on-time performance is 80% with an average delay of 16 minutes, based on 1969 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Washington-Houston is 2.29% across 1969 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Houston, 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.
