Washington (DCA) – Houston (IAH)
- Distance
- 1,944 km
- 1,208 mi · 1,049 nm
- Flight time
- 3 h 22 min / 3 h 1 min
- Average gate to gate: DCA → IAH / back
- Time difference
- 1 h
- CO2 per passenger
- 244 kg
- One way, economy, incl. RF (144 kg CO2 only)
- Passengers / year
- 577,565
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 · +15.7%
- Flights / week
- 123
- Both directions, average
- Seats filled
- 71%
- 810,761 seats a year
- Airlines nonstop
- 3
- UA, YX, OH
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
- 245°
- Heading from IAH
- 55°
- Halfway point
- 34.76, -86.68
- Great-circle km
- 1,942 km (sphere, for EU261)
- In the air DCA → IAH
- 2 h 52 min
- In the air IAH → DCA
- 2 h 32 min
- Clocks
- Houston is 1 h behind Washington
The estimate for a route without real times is 3 h 5 min; how it is worked out is on Sources.
Show as a table
| Month | Passengers |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 43,776 |
| Sep 2025 | 43,025 |
| Oct 2025 | 51,429 |
| Nov 2025 | 46,278 |
| Dec 2025 | 51,244 |
| Jan 2026 | 40,620 |
| Feb 2026 | 42,121 |
| Mar 2026 | 52,997 |
| Apr 2026 | 48,668 |
| May 2026 | 52,518 |
| Jun 2026 | 52,430 |
| Jul 2026 | 52,459 |
Show as a table
| Month | Flights |
|---|---|
| Aug 2025 | 412 |
| Sep 2025 | 545 |
| Oct 2025 | 581 |
| Nov 2025 | 525 |
| Dec 2025 | 543 |
| Jan 2026 | 527 |
| Feb 2026 | 506 |
| Mar 2026 | 553 |
| Apr 2026 | 565 |
| May 2026 | 570 |
| Jun 2026 | 538 |
| Jul 2026 | 535 |
Airlines flying DCA–IAH nonstop
| Airline | Flights / week | Share of passengers |
|---|---|---|
| UAUnited Air Lines | 92 | 86% |
| YXRepublic Airline | 19 | 8% |
| OHPSA Airlines | 13 | 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 · 1,270 flights
- Embraer ERJ-175 · 971 flights
- Boeing 737-700/700LR/Max 7 · 957 flights
- Airbus Industrie A320-100/200 · 928 flights
- Boeing 737-800 · 836 flights
- Boeing B737 Max 800 · 726 flights
- Canadair CRJ 900 · 521 flights
- Canadair RJ-700 · 142 flights
Punctuality
- On time
- 78%
- Arrived within 15 min of schedule
- Average delay
- 17 min
- Late arrivals count, early ones as 0
- Cancelled
- 2%
- Flights counted
- 6,556
- Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
| Airline | On time | Average delay |
|---|---|---|
| UAUnited Air Lines | 79.8% | 16 min |
| YXRepublic Airline | 75.8% | 15 min |
| OHPSA Airlines | 67.8% | 31 min |
Delay minutes by cause: airline 21% · aircraft arriving late 38% · air traffic system 33% · weather 8% · 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
- $341
- One way, all cabins
- Average over a year
- $303
- Q2 2025 – Q1 2026
- Largest airline
- United Air Lines
- 83% of passengers · $350
- Lowest-fare airline
- American Airlines
- 16% of passengers · $293
History, not a price to book: what the average passenger paid per one-way trip in each quarter (Q2 2025 $293 · Q3 2025 $273 · Q4 2025 $309 · Q1 2026 $341).
Fare outlook, Q1 2027: about $348, likely $301–$397
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 95% of the time over 21 quarters (median error 6.7%). 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: Q3, 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: 1,942 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 Houston
Kilometres. Linked numbers have a page of their own. All Washington airports · All Houston airports
More routes from DCA
More routes from IAH
| Route | Distance | Passengers / year |
|---|---|---|
| IAH → ORD | 1,489 km | 1,711,056 |
| IAH → DEN | 1,387 km | 1,641,444 |
| IAH → LAX | 2,219 km | 1,544,652 |
| IAH → ATL | 1,109 km | 1,430,755 |
| IAH → DFW | 361 km | 1,257,452 |
| IAH → SFO | 2,632 km | 1,223,236 |
| IAH → MCO | 1,375 km | 1,147,728 |
| IAH → EWR | 2,252 km | 1,135,261 |
| IAH → LGA | 2,279 km | 1,049,227 |
| IAH → LAS | 1,966 km | 1,028,809 |