Washington (DCA) to Houston (HOU)
Flight time
≈ 3h 14m
Bearing
244° SW
Washington (DCA) to Houston (HOU) is 1,217 miles (1,959 km) as the crow flies — the great-circle baseline most distance-based mileage programs credit.
Look up a route, or build a trip
Change the airports, or add stops for a multi-leg trip.
What actually flies DCA–HOU
Filed traffic dataIn July 2026, Southwest Airlines was the only carrier flying nonstop DCA–HOU; the Boeing 737-700 was the most common aircraft at 76% of departures; flights ran 86% full.
Departures
166
July 2026
Seats
24,262
both directions
Passengers
20,890
both directions
Load factor
86.1%
RPM ÷ ASM
Who flies DCA–HOU?
Southwest Airlines was the only carrier to fly nonstop DCA–HOU in July 2026 (166 departures).
- WN
166 departures · 24,262 seats
Share of departures100.0%86.1%
Load
What plane flies DCA–HOU?
In July 2026, the Boeing 737-700 flew 76% of DCA–HOU departures — more than any other aircraft type.
- Boeing 737-700
126 departures · 87.6% load
75.9% - Boeing 737 MAX 8
31 departures · 82.4% load
18.7% - Boeing 737-800
9 departures · 82.0% load
5.4%
How has DCA–HOU traffic changed?
Nonstop DCA–HOU departures fell from 177 in August 2025 to 166 in July 2026.
Monthly nonstop DCA–HOU traffic, trailing 12 months through July 2026. Bars scale to the busiest month; months with no filed service show as zero.
August 2025
177 departures · 20,160 passengers
71.3%
Load
September 2025
171 departures · 15,933 passengers
58.3%
Load
October 2025
171 departures · 18,414 passengers
67.0%
Load
November 2025
164 departures · 15,845 passengers
60.0%
Load
December 2025
182 departures · 19,048 passengers
63.2%
Load
January 2026
168 departures · 12,338 passengers
44.2%
Load
February 2026
156 departures · 11,517 passengers
45.5%
Load
March 2026
179 departures · 21,219 passengers
70.8%
Load
April 2026
174 departures · 18,121 passengers
65.8%
Load
May 2026
176 departures · 20,578 passengers
74.5%
Load
June 2026
179 departures · 21,251 passengers
81.3%
Load
July 2026
166 departures · 20,890 passengers
86.1%
Load
By direction
Each direction is filed separately — they rarely match.
DCA → HOU
90.6% full
86 departures · 10,991 passengers
HOU → DCA
81.5% full
80 departures · 9,899 passengers
Nonstop DCA–HOU traffic has been filed since 2025.
Source: US DOT BTS Form 41 T-100 Segment (All Carriers). Data through July 2026; filings from 2025. Public domain (US Government work).
The airports
Frequently asked
How far is Washington (DCA) from Houston (HOU)?
DCA to HOU is 1,217 miles (1,959 km / 1,058 nautical miles) measured great-circle — the shortest path over the surface of the Earth.
How long is the flight from DCA to HOU?
A nonstop covers the 1,217-mile great-circle distance in roughly 3h 14m of block time, before winds. Actual schedules vary a few percent by direction and aircraft.
What plane flies DCA–HOU?
In July 2026, the Boeing 737-700 flew the largest share of departures (75.9%), followed by the Boeing 737 MAX 8 (18.7%).
What mileage do I earn flying DCA–HOU?
Distance-based programs credit off the 1,217-mile great-circle figure, then apply your fare-class earning rate. Revenue-based programs credit off the fare instead.
Keep exploring
Every route below is its own page.
Popular long-haul routes