I have not flown AA this year as much as last year, but I have experienced a significant decline in on-time performance at DCA. Flights that have arrived early or on-time for me have been the exception, not the rule.

Operations at DCA seem to be understaffed at night. On at least two occasions this year that I recall, we went through multiple rounds of delays: first our gate was occupied, then we had to wait for someone to guide us into the gate. Then on one occasion we had to wait for someone to move a vehicle out of the way and on another we had to wait 10+ minutes for someone to operate the jetway. Based on comments I overheard from other passengers and AA staff, this has been common at DCA lately, and these are not unique experiences. (And let's not even get started on the slow delivery of checked baggage.) I felt bad for the FAs and pilots, as I got the sense they were tired of this as well. (And they're getting home late as well due to these operational issues!)

I've also found that gate changes are more frequent as well. Clearly a lot of small problems operationally that compound and turn into many delays and poor performance. AA needs to make some significant changes to get their house in order.