Washington (DCA) – Detroit (DTW)
- Distance
- 652 km
- 405 mi · 352 nm
- Flight time
- 1 h 37 min / 1 h 39 min
- Average gate to gate: DCA → DTW / back
- Time difference
- none
- CO2 per passenger
- 82 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (48 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 477,897
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · −3.9%
- Flights / week
- 110
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 76%
- 627,825 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 3
- DL, OH, YX
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
- 307°
- Heading from DTW
- 123°
- Halfway point
- 40.58, -80.12
- Great-circle km
- 651 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air DCA → DTW
- 1 h 8 min
- In the air DTW → DCA
- 1 h 4 min
- Clocks
- Same time in both
The estimate for a route without real times is 1 h 35 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 41,428 |
| Sep 2025 | 40,696 |
| Oct 2025 | 43,455 |
| Nov 2025 | 40,605 |
| Dec 2025 | 36,442 |
| Jan 2026 | 29,853 |
| Feb 2026 | 33,953 |
| Mar 2026 | 42,613 |
| Apr 2026 | 42,775 |
| May 2026 | 45,333 |
| Jun 2026 | 41,003 |
| Jul 2026 | 39,741 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 459 |
| Sep 2025 | 497 |
| Oct 2025 | 520 |
| Nov 2025 | 493 |
| Dec 2025 | 459 |
| Jan 2026 | 450 |
| Feb 2026 | 458 |
| Mar 2026 | 507 |
| Apr 2026 | 518 |
| May 2026 | 505 |
| Jun 2026 | 440 |
| Jul 2026 | 432 |
Airlines flying DCA–DTW nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| DLDelta Air Lines | 65 | 76% |
| OHPSA Airlines | 35 | 18% |
| YXRepublic Airline | 10 | 6% |
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 A319 · 2,863 flights
- Canadair RJ-700 · 1,121 flights
- Canadair CRJ 900 · 677 flights
- Embraer ERJ-175 · 542 flights
- Airbus Industrie A320-100/200 · 501 flights
- Airbus Industrie A321Neoxlr · 24 flights
- Boeing 717-200 · 4 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 2 flights
Also carried: 17 tonnes of freight and 0 tonnes of mail a year (passenger and cargo flights).
Punctuality
- On time
- 72.5%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 23 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 3.8%
- Flights counted
- 5,951
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
| Airline | On time | Average delay |
|---|---|---|
| DLDelta Air Lines | 74.3% | 19 min |
| OHPSA Airlines | 68.9% | 31 min |
| YXRepublic Airline | 72.5% | 20 min |
Delay minutes by cause: airline 28% · aircraft arriving late 40% · air traffic system 27% · weather 4% · 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
- $226
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $218
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- Delta Air Lines
- 72% of passengers · $238
- Lowest-fare airline
- American Airlines
- 26% of passengers · $197
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $222 · Q3 2025 $205 · Q4 2025 $218 · Q1 2026 $226).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $231, likely $200–$263
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 81% of the time over 21 quarters (median error 4.2%). 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
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: 651 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 Detroit
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Washington airports