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Flights Washington → Seattle

IAD → SEA

20.7
Average risk (Medium)
80%
On-time
11 min
Average delay
6.1%
Cancellations
1
Airlines

Route overview

The flight route from Washington to Seattle operates with an average on-time performance of 81%, experiencing a mean delay of 10.5 minutes per flight. Over the course of a year, this route sees approximately 338 flights using aircraft such as Boeing 737-900, Boeing 757-200, and Airbus A320, serving a destination airport that handles nearly 52.7 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 (IAD) → Seattle (SEA) route is operated by United Airlines. Across 443 flights monitored in recent months, 80% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 11 minutes. The cancellation rate is 6.09%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 20.7/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Seattle the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.

Heading to Seattle: what to expect in this direction

Flying from Washington (IAD) to Seattle (SEA) heads north-west for about 3,702 km, a flight time of roughly 5h 3m.

Departures from Washington on this leg cluster in the midday window: about 58% of IAD-SEA flights take off then.

Air-traffic congestion: departing Washington the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Seattle it is 2.0 min (atfm).

Across 443 tracked IAD-SEA flights, 80% left on time with an average delay of 11 min and a 6.1% cancellation rate.

Route facts

Time difference
3h behind
Arrival (dest. local time)
10:03
Elevation SEA
433 ft
Typical aircraft
Boeing 737-900, Boeing 757-200
Est. CO₂/passenger
~370 kg

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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 IAD-SEA

Frequently asked questions about IAD-SEA

On the Washington (IAD) -> Seattle (SEA) route, on-time performance is 80% with an average delay of 11 minutes, based on 443 tracked flights.

The cancellation rate on Washington-Seattle is 6.09% across 443 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 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.