Great-circle route SFO ↔ 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. The two directions are not identical — that is normal on scheduled routes.
| Direction | Frequency | Days | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| SFO → DCA San Francisco to Washington |
14/wk | Daily | Alaska Airlines, United Airlines |
| DCA → SFO Washington to San Francisco |
21/wk | Daily | Alaska 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 286,230 passengers on 2,071 flights between SFO and DCA — about 785 a day — filling 84% of the 339,116 seats flown. United Air Lines Inc. carried the most passengers (66%).
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 SFO–DCA nonstop, including Alaska Airlines, United Airlines.
Recent scheduled departures on this route have used the Boeing 737, Boeing 737-800.
Aircraft assignments change by season and by time of day.
On a long east–west route like this one the two directions do not take the same time. Aircraft flying eastbound ride the mid-latitude jet stream and typically arrive earlier than the westbound leg, which flies into it. The difference is commonly 30 to 90 minutes on transatlantic and transpacific flights, and it varies by season. The estimate above does not model wind — treat it as a midpoint and check the airline's own timetable for the block time on your date.
The distance between San Francisco International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is 2,436 miles, or 3,920 kilometres.
| Great-circle distance | 2,436 mi |
| Kilometres | 3,920 km |
| Nautical miles | 2,117 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 35 departures a week across both directions. The route is in our live nonstop dataset, last seeded 2026-07-07.
About 5h 17m in the air. That is a great-circle estimate from the 2,436-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 14 a week from San Francisco to Washington and 21 a week from Washington to San Francisco, from our most recent schedule sample.
Alaska Airlines, United Airlines.
In 2025, airlines reported 286,230 passengers on 2,071 scheduled flights between SFO and DCA — about 785 a day — filling 84% of the seats flown. Source: US DOT T-100 segment reports, both directions combined.
Recent scheduled departures have used the Boeing 737, Boeing 737-800. Assignments change by season and by time of day.
