Flights Washington → Seattle
DCA → SEA
How long is the flight from Washington to Seattle?
The flight from Washington (DCA) to Seattle (SEA) takes 5h 9m on average. That is the median time recorded across 2 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
This flight route connects Washington with Seattle and has an on-time performance rate of 80%, with flights typically experiencing a mean delay of 14.7 minutes. Over the past year, there have been 267 total flights on this route, originating from an airport that opened in 1938, while the destination city's airport serves over 52 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) → Seattle (SEA) route is operated by Alaska Airlines. Across 643 flights monitored in recent months, 81% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 13 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.40%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 18/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Seattle the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Washington the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Seattle: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Washington (DCA) to Seattle (SEA) heads north-west for about 3,738 km, a flight time of roughly 5h 9m.
Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 65% of DCA-SEA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Seattle it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 643 tracked DCA-SEA flights, 81% left on time with an average delay of 13 min and a 1.4% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines (AS) | 85% | -1 min | 0.5% |
Airlines operating DCA-SEA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DCA-SEA
The flight from Washington (DCA) to Seattle (SEA) takes 5h 9m on average. That is the median time recorded across 2 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the Washington (DCA) -> Seattle (SEA) route, on-time performance is 81% with an average delay of 13 minutes, based on 643 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Washington-Seattle is 1.40% across 643 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: Alaska Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Seattle, 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.
