Flights Washington → Los Angeles
DCA → LAX
Route overview
This flight route operates between Washington and Los Angeles, using Boeing 737-800 aircraft. With a 75% on-time performance rate, flights experience an average delay of 20.2 minutes, based on the total of 356 recorded flights. The destination airport in Los Angeles, which opened in 1926 and handles over 76 million passengers annually, is significantly older than Washington's airport, which dates back to 1938.
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) → Los Angeles (LAX) route is operated by American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines. Across 480 flights monitored in recent months, 76% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 18 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.04%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 19/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Los Angeles the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Los Angeles: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Washington (DCA) to Los Angeles (LAX) heads west for about 3,711 km, a flight time of roughly 5h 4m.
Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 50% of DCA-LAX flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Los Angeles it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 480 tracked DCA-LAX flights, 76% left on time with an average delay of 18 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 DCA-LAX
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DCA-LAX
On the Washington (DCA) -> Los Angeles (LAX) route, on-time performance is 76% with an average delay of 18 minutes, based on 480 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Washington-Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles, 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.
