Washington (DCA) – Denver (DEN)
- Distance
- 2,375 km
- 1,476 mi · 1,282 nm
- Flight time
- 4 h 5 min / 3 h 17 min
- Average gate to gate: DCA → DEN / back
- Time difference
- 2 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 298 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (176 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 439,695
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · −8.1%
- Flights / week
- 51
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 85%
- 515,148 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 2
- F9, UA
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 DCA
- 282°
- Heading from DEN
- 84°
- Halfway point
- 40.19, -90.75
- Great-circle km
- 2,369 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air DCA → DEN
- 3 h 31 min
- In the air DEN → DCA
- 2 h 53 min
- Clocks
- Denver is 2 h behind Washington
The estimate for a route without real times is 3 h 35 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 38,259 |
| Sep 2025 | 37,127 |
| Oct 2025 | 39,044 |
| Nov 2025 | 36,312 |
| Dec 2025 | 38,158 |
| Jan 2026 | 33,754 |
| Feb 2026 | 32,307 |
| Mar 2026 | 36,753 |
| Apr 2026 | 36,500 |
| May 2026 | 38,977 |
| Jun 2026 | 36,685 |
| Jul 2026 | 35,819 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 231 |
| Sep 2025 | 223 |
| Oct 2025 | 230 |
| Nov 2025 | 224 |
| Dec 2025 | 228 |
| Jan 2026 | 222 |
| Feb 2026 | 208 |
| Mar 2026 | 227 |
| Apr 2026 | 216 |
| May 2026 | 232 |
| Jun 2026 | 220 |
| Jul 2026 | 214 |
Airlines flying DCA–DEN nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| F9Frontier Airlines | 38 | 70% |
| UAUnited Air Lines | 14 | 30% |
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
- Airbus Industrie A320-200n · 1,698 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321-200n · 582 flights
- Boeing 757-300 · 234 flights
- Airbus Industrie A320-100/200 · 133 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 14 flights
- Boeing 757-200 · 6 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321Neoxlr · 4 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 2 flights
Punctuality
- On time
- 80.1%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 16 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 0.7%
- Flights counted
- 2,693
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
| Airline | On time | Average delay |
|---|---|---|
| F9Frontier Airlines | 78.7% | 17 min |
| UAUnited Air Lines | 84% | 13 min |
Delay minutes by cause: airline 25% · aircraft arriving late 27% · air traffic system 42% · weather 6% · security 0%.
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
- $228
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $217
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Frontier Airlines
- 61% of passengers · $162
- Lowest-fare airline
- Frontier Airlines
- 61% of passengers · $162
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $228 · Q3 2025 $199 · Q4 2025 $216 · Q1 2026 $228).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $233, likely $201–$265
The average fare paid we expect a year after Q1 2026, the newest DOT quarter. On this route, past forecasts made this way fell inside the range 86% of the time over 21 quarters (median error 6%). An estimate from US DOT data: not a price you can book, not a guarantee, not advice on when to buy. How the outlook works
Cheapest quarter on this route: Q1, typically 5% below the year's average (9 years of DOT data, without 2020–21).
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: 2,369 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 Denver
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Washington airports · All Denver airports