Historical on-time performance
Detroit to Los Angeles
1,979 miData through Dec 2025Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DTW–LAX arrive on time 80% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate80%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay35 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.6%of scheduled flights
based on 2,688 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Delta Air LinesOn-time78%Medianon timep9035 minCancel0.6%Flights1,975
- Spirit AirlinesbestOn-time84%Medianon timep9025 minCancel0.7%Flights713
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline53%
- Weather4%
- Air traffic (NAS)21%
- Late aircraft21%
- Security1%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Airline.
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly DTW → LAX
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-01 .. 2025-12).
Best time of day
Mornings are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 88% on time.
- Mornings88% on time · p90 15 min · 2,287 flights
- Middays84% on time · p90 25 min · 1,574 flights
- Afternoons80% on time · p90 35 min · 1,395 flights
- Evenings78% on time · p90 40 min · 1,225 flights
- Overnights70% on time · p90 55 min · 1,743 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 77% to 85% on time.
- Wednesdays85% on time · p90 20 min · 1,126 flights
- Tuesdays84% on time · p90 25 min · 1,134 flights
- Thursdays80% on time · p90 35 min · 1,204 flights
- Saturdays80% on time · p90 35 min · 1,116 flights
- Fridays79% on time · p90 35 min · 1,222 flights
- Mondays78% on time · p90 40 min · 1,226 flights
- Sundays77% on time · p90 40 min · 1,196 flights
Advertisement
Keep exploring