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 ORD to IAD record →

Best month

September

84.7% on time · 352 flights

Worst month

July

63.6% on time · 340 flights

Month Flights On time Cancelled When late, by
January 253 78.5% 2.37% 60 min
February 224 81.3% 0% 46 min
March 300 70.9% 0.67% 74 min
April 361 81.3% 0.83% 80 min
May 402 76.1% 0% 59 min
June 390 74.9% 0.26% 71 min
July 340 63.6% 2.06% 97 min
August 351 69.6% 1.99% 87 min
September 352 84.7% 0% 65 min
October 334 82.9% 0% 58 min
November 300 79.8% 1% 67 min
December 272 73.2% 0% 52 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.