Great-circle route ORD ↔ DCA. Faint dots are other airports, for geographic context. Download this map — free to reuse with a link back to this page.
Frequencies below are per direction, from our most recent schedule sample.
| Direction | Frequency | Days | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORD → DCA Chicago to Washington |
148/wk | Daily | American Airlines, United Airlines |
| DCA → ORD Washington to Chicago |
148/wk | Daily | American Airlines, United Airlines |
Where a direction shows “—” we track it as an operating nonstop but hold no schedule sample for it — we would rather show nothing than guess.
In 2025, airlines reported 1,300,308 passengers on 13,124 flights between ORD and DCA — about 3,564 a day — filling 70% of the 1,844,529 seats flown. United Air Lines Inc. carried the most passengers (53%).
Source: US DOT T-100 segment reports — actual airline-reported traffic, scheduled service only, both directions combined. Cargo and charter flights excluded.
2 airlines fly the ORD–DCA nonstop, including American Airlines, United Airlines.
Recent scheduled departures on this route have used the Embraer 175, Boeing 737-800, Airbus A319, Boeing 737-700 and 2 other types.
Aircraft assignments change by season and by time of day.
The distance between Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is 611 miles, or 983 kilometres.
| Great-circle distance | 611 mi |
| Kilometres | 983 km |
| Nautical miles | 531 nmi |
Measured airport to airport. The actual track is longer — aircraft follow airways, avoid restricted airspace and route around weather.
Yes. 2 airlines fly the route nonstop, with about 296 departures a week across both directions. The route is in our live nonstop dataset, last seeded 2026-07-07.
About 1h 49m in the air. That is a great-circle estimate from the 611-mile distance, not a scheduled block time — an airline's published time will differ by roughly 15 to 45 minutes depending on routing, winds and taxi.
About 148 a week from Chicago to Washington and 148 a week from Washington to Chicago, from our most recent schedule sample.
American Airlines, United Airlines.
In 2025, airlines reported 1,300,308 passengers on 13,124 scheduled flights between ORD and DCA — about 3,564 a day — filling 70% of the seats flown. Source: US DOT T-100 segment reports, both directions combined.
Recent scheduled departures have used the Embraer 175, Boeing 737-800, Airbus A319, Boeing 737-700. Assignments change by season and by time of day.
