DCA to DSM flight delays
Washington, VA (DCA) Des Moines, IA (DSM) · 897 miles
702 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
72.96%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
6.98%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
77 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
22 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Cancellation, not delay, is the risk worth pricing here: 6.98% of scheduled flights never operated. A late flight still gets you there. A cancelled one leaves you rebooking, and on a route with few daily departures that can mean losing a day.
The season swings this route hard. In November it ran 21.5 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.
The 2 airlines here are separated by under 3 points — close enough to call a tie. Choose on price and departure time.
Flights from Washington to Des Moines run late more often than the average route, though not severely.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Republic Airways arrived on time most often on DCA to DSM. PSA Airlines was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in November and worst in June.
Every airline on DCA to DSM
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA Airlines | 387 | 70.69% | 9.56% | 84 min | F |
| Republic Airways | 256 | 72.76% | 3.91% | 69 min | D |
| Envoy Air | 58 | 87.5% | 3.45% | 54 min | — |
| American Airlines | 1 | 100% | 0% | — | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
DSM to DCA Des Moines back to Washington 77.85% on time DOther routes from Washington
Common questions
Are flights from Washington to Des Moines usually delayed?
72.96% of flights on the DCA to DSM route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 3 in every ten arrived late. That is worse than the average route in this record.
Which airline is most on time from Washington to Des Moines?
Republic Airways, at 72.76% on time across 256 flights. The least punctual on the route was PSA Airlines at 70.69%.
How often are DCA to DSM flights cancelled?
6.98% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 70 in every thousand. That is high enough that cancellation, not delay, is the risk worth planning around.
What is the best month to fly Washington to Des Moines?
November, when 80% of flights arrived on time. The worst was June at 58.5%.
When DCA to DSM flights are late, how late are they?
About 77 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 DSM during January 2025 – August 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 →