AA5238American Airlines · DSM → DCA
live · 3h ago
Route confirmed American Airlines

AA5238 Des MoinesDSM · 07:00 WashingtonDCA · 10:38

AA5238 by American Airlines flies from Des Moines (DSM) to Washington (DCA) for the Sat, Sep 19 departure.

Right nowLanded in Washington · today
10:05

arrived at DCA · 33 min early

⚖ AA5238 typically leaves +7 and lands −32. The air wins minutes back.

Where the minutes go

last 7 operations · gate push → arrival
0+30+60+90 min
09-19
+5 gate · −33 arrival
09-18
+7 gate · −15 arrival
09-17
+3 gate · −27 arrival
09-16
+10 gate · −24 arrival
09-15
+8 gate · −26 arrival
09-14
+4 gate · −37 arrival
09-13
+18 gate · −26 arrival

The bar is how late it left the gate; the ring is where it actually arrived. Board clocks, not estimates.

The last 30 days

arrival outcome per operation

median arrival −32 min · 0 cancelled · 13 operations tracked

The route today

live boards
DSMDes MoinesModerate riskDSM delay board →
DCAWashingtonOn-time likelyDCA delay board →
DSM→DCAevery carrier, schedules and on-time historyRoute intelligence →

Weather lens

Delay & cancellation outlook for this flight

Early read, sample still building
47%Chance of 15+ min delay
3.7%Chance of cancellation

Conditions at DSM and DCA are near their clear-air norm right now, so this reflects the route's recent baseline rather than a weather penalty. For this route and airline, under conditions like today's, over the last 90 days. This route's tracked sample is still thin — treat these as an early read, not a precise forecast.

Pro Flight Search tracking, 90 days · the weather × delay correlation study → · live weather risk by airport →

When it flies

scheduled departures
061422
M
T
W
T
F
S
S

Each mark is a scheduled departure at its origin-local time. Today is highlighted.

Other Des Moines to Washington flights today

same route · American Airlines
AA4633departs 05:46
AA4543departs 06:00
AA5122departs 06:00
AA4435departs 14:13
AA4229departs 14:28

If AA5238 is cancelled, these are the other American Airlines nonstop flights from Des Moines to Washington on the same day, with scheduled departure times in DSM local time. Most flights posting a delay still operate — rebooking usually only beats a very large posted delay. Every airline on this route →

How AA5238 actually runs

Pro Flight Search has tracked every published board update for AA5238 across the DSM and DCA boards: schedule changes, gate pushes and actual clocks. Usually lands ~30 min early. Based on 13 confirmed landings · 13/13 within 15 min of schedule. Pushes back late but makes up time in the air.

The verdict above is that record speaking, so it reflects how AA5238 operates rather than what the timetable promises. Numbers refresh as new flights operate.

Technical record

How this operation is measured

board clocksaircraft

Board log

scheduled → actual, per operation
09-19DSM 07:00 07:05 (+5)DCA 10:38 10:05 (−33)
09-18DSM 06:00 06:07 (+7)DCA 09:35 09:20 (−15)
09-17DSM 06:00 06:03 (+3)DCA 09:35 09:08 (−27)
09-16DSM 06:00 06:10 (+10)DCA 09:35 09:11 (−24)
09-15DSM 06:00 06:08 (+8)DCA 09:35 09:09 (−26)
09-14DSM 06:00 06:04 (+4)DCA 09:35 08:58 (−37)
09-13DSM 06:00 06:18 (+18)DCA 09:35 09:09 (−26)
09-12DSM 07:00 07:05 (+5)DCA 10:38 10:06 (−32)
09-11DSM 06:00 06:13 (+13)DCA 09:35 09:12 (−23)
09-10DSM 06:00 06:02 (+2)DCA 09:35 09:00 (−35)
09-08DSM 14:21 14:29 (+8)DCA 18:00 17:22 (−38)
09-07DSM 14:21 14:31 (+10)DCA 18:00 17:28 (−32)
09-05DSM 15:36 15:43 (+7)DCA 19:15 18:34 (−41)

Aircraft

Recent tails: N525AE, N716PS, N545PB, N535EA.

Board clocks recorded as DSM and DCA published them.

Cite this data

Journalists, bloggers, and researchers may cite this page with attribution and a link to Pro Flight Search.

Suggested citation

Pro Flight Search — AA5238 Des Moines to Washington on-time performance, measured from the DSM and DCA airport boards.

Canonical URL
https://proflightsearch.com/flight/AA5238
How we measure this →