Washington (BWI) – San Diego (SAN)
- Distance
- 3,693 km
- 2,295 mi · 1,994 nm
- Flight time
- 5 h 27 min / 4 h 46 min
- Average gate to gate: BWI → SAN / back
- Time difference
- 3 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 464 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (274 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 312,667
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +29.4%
- Flights / week
- 44
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 80%
- 389,358 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 1
- WN
Traffic: U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service), Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Distance: WGS-84 ellipsoid. CO2: UK DESNZ 2026 factors. Sources
The way there
- Heading from BWI
- 272°
- Heading from SAN
- 67°
- Halfway point
- 37.72, -97.79
- Great-circle km
- 3,686 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air BWI → SAN
- 5 h 6 min
- In the air SAN → BWI
- 4 h 22 min
- Clocks
- San Diego is 3 h behind Washington
The estimate for a route without real times is 5 h 10 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 23,723 |
| Sep 2025 | 21,385 |
| Oct 2025 | 26,395 |
| Nov 2025 | 23,694 |
| Dec 2025 | 26,165 |
| Jan 2026 | 21,171 |
| Feb 2026 | 19,595 |
| Mar 2026 | 27,535 |
| Apr 2026 | 29,525 |
| May 2026 | 30,113 |
| Jun 2026 | 32,028 |
| Jul 2026 | 31,338 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 168 |
| Sep 2025 | 161 |
| Oct 2025 | 201 |
| Nov 2025 | 193 |
| Dec 2025 | 197 |
| Jan 2026 | 173 |
| Feb 2026 | 157 |
| Mar 2026 | 202 |
| Apr 2026 | 206 |
| May 2026 | 210 |
| Jun 2026 | 203 |
| Jul 2026 | 206 |
Airlines flying BWI–SAN nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| WNSouthwest Airlines | 44 | 100% |
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. Airlines with at least one flight a month. U.S. DOT, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Segment (all carriers, scheduled service). Sources
Aircraft on this route
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 1,333 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 686 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 257 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321-200n · 1 flight
Also carried: 361 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 76.8%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 12 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 1.4%
- Flights counted
- 2,319
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Delay minutes by cause: airline 36% · aircraft arriving late 41% · air traffic system 20% · weather 2% · security 1%.
Both directions, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026. BTS Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (US domestic flights of the larger US airlines). Sources
What passengers paid
- Average fare, Q1 2026
- $290
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $293
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Southwest Airlines
- 84% of passengers · $287
- Lowest-fare airline
- United Air Lines
- 6% of passengers · $286
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $305 · Q3 2025 $299 · Q4 2025 $277 · Q1 2026 $290).
U.S. DOT Consumer Airfare Report, Table 1a (airline ticket sample, US domestic airport pairs). Sources
Delay compensation (EU261 / UK261)
Measured by great-circle distance: 3,686 km.
Neither EU261 nor UK261 covers this route: it neither starts nor ends in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK. Other countries have their own rules (for example Canada's APPR or Brazil's ANAC rules).
Also owed for a cancellation with less than 14 days' notice or denied boarding. Not owed for extraordinary circumstances. On a connection, the distance to the final destination counts. From 23 October 2027 the EU's Regulation 2026/2202 applies; it keeps these amounts (what changes in 2027). Information, not legal advice.
Every airport pair between Washington and San Diego
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Washington airports