DCA to AUS flight delays
Washington, VA (DCA) Austin, TX (AUS) · 1,315 miles
730 flights · July 2024 – July 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
54.82%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.55%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
64 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
30 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The season swings this route hard. In October it ran 76.8 points more punctual than in June — a difference bigger than the one between the best and worst airlines on most routes. If the date is flexible, it is worth more than the carrier.
Flights from Washington to Austin arrive late more often than they arrive on time. At this rate lateness is the normal outcome, not the exception, and the schedule is better read as an aspiration than a plan.
This route does worse than its own airport. DCA as a whole runs 20.9 points more punctual than these flights, which points at something specific to the route — the time of day it is scheduled, or the aircraft that feed it — rather than the airport.
The two directions do not behave alike. AUS to DCA arrives on time 12.6 points more often than the outbound. Delay accumulates through the flying day, so whichever direction is scheduled later tends to carry the worse record — which is an argument for booking the morning departure if the choice exists.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over July 2024 – July 2026, Southwest Airlines arrived on time most often on DCA to AUS. Flights ran closest to schedule in October and worst in June.
Every airline on DCA to AUS
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 730 | 54.82% | 0.55% | 64 min | F |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
AUS to DCA Austin back to Washington 67.4% on time DOther routes from Washington
Common questions
Are flights from Washington to Austin usually delayed?
54.82% of flights on the DCA to AUS route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 5 in every ten arrived late. That is worse than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Washington to Austin?
Only Southwest Airlines appears in the published record on this route, with 730 flights and 54.82% arriving on time.
How often are DCA to AUS flights cancelled?
0.55% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 6 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Washington to Austin?
October, when 93.5% of flights arrived on time. The worst was June at 16.7%.
When DCA to AUS flights are late, how late are they?
About 64 minutes on average across the flights that arrived more than 15 minutes behind schedule.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on DCA to AUS during July 2024 – July 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →