Flights Washington → Philadelphia
DCA → PHL
Route overview
This flight route operates between Washington and Philadelphia, with a total of 178 flights recorded. The aircraft used include Airbus A319, Airbus A320, and De Havilland Canada DHC-8-300 Dash 8 models. The on-time performance is at 57%, with an average delay time of 37.1 minutes per flight.
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) → Philadelphia (PHL) route is operated by American Airlines. Across 291 flights monitored in recent months, 66% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 30 minutes. The cancellation rate is 3.09%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 19.3/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Philadelphia the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Philadelphia: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Washington (DCA) to Philadelphia (PHL) heads north-east for about 192 km, a flight time of roughly 40m.
Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the morning window: about 43% of DCA-PHL flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Philadelphia it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 291 tracked DCA-PHL flights, 66% left on time with an average delay of 30 min and a 3.1% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines (AA) | 74% | 16 min | 3.0% |
Airlines operating DCA-PHL
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DCA-PHL
On the Washington (DCA) -> Philadelphia (PHL) route, on-time performance is 66% with an average delay of 30 minutes, based on 291 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Washington-Philadelphia is 3.09% across 291 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: American Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Philadelphia, 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.
