Flights Washington → San Francisco
DCA → SFO
Route overview
This flight route operates between Washington and San Francisco, using a mix of Boeing 737-800, Boeing 737-700, and Airbus A320 aircraft. With an average delay time of 9.3 minutes and an on-time performance rate of 83%, the service is generally reliable, having conducted a total of 266 flights along this route.
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) → San Francisco (SFO) route is operated by United Airlines. Across 328 flights monitored in recent months, 82% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 12 minutes. The cancellation rate is 0.61%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 24.6/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to San Francisco: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Washington (DCA) to San Francisco (SFO) heads west for about 3,921 km, a flight time of roughly 5h 19m.
Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 73% of DCA-SFO flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into San Francisco it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 328 tracked DCA-SFO flights, 82% left on time with an average delay of 12 min and a 0.6% 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% |
Airlines operating DCA-SFO
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DCA-SFO
On the Washington (DCA) -> San Francisco (SFO) route, on-time performance is 82% with an average delay of 12 minutes, based on 328 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Washington-San Francisco is 0.61% across 328 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 San Francisco, 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.
