Best time to fly Chicago to Washington

Every month pooled across the years on record, so "July" means July generally rather than one particular July. Full MDW to DCA record →

Best month

September

78.4% on time · 176 flights

Worst month

March

61.5% on time · 181 flights

Month Flights On time Cancelled When late, by
January 179 76.2% 6.15% 59 min
February 157 72.9% 0.64% 44 min
March 181 61.5% 3.31% 71 min
April 173 70.9% 0.58% 52 min
May 176 61.9% 0% 49 min
June 176 66.9% 1.7% 68 min
July 181 65.1% 6.63% 95 min
August 181 76% 0.55% 54 min
September 176 78.4% 0% 44 min
October 181 68.5% 0% 44 min
November 170 67.9% 5.88% 60 min
December 173 67.1% 0% 53 min

What a seasonal pattern can and cannot tell you

Months differ for reasons that repeat — summer thunderstorms in the American interior, winter fog and de-icing in northern Europe, school holidays filling every seat and leaving no slack in the schedule. Those are real and they come back each year.

What the pattern cannot do is forecast a particular flight. A quiet month has late days and a bad month has punctual ones. Treat this as a way to choose between two dates you are indifferent about, not as a promise.