Historical on-time performance
Detroit to San Diego
1,956 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on DTW–SAN arrive on time 73% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate73%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay45 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.0%of scheduled flights
based on 1,267 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Delta Air LinesOn-time73%Medianon timep9045 minCancel1.0%Flights1,267
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline42%
- Weather3%
- Air traffic (NAS)24%
- Late aircraft30%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Airline.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline77%
- Weather23%
- Air traffic (NAS)0%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. Shares are among 13 cancellations with a reported cause (BTS reports causes from June 2003).
Over time
On-time trend
By season
On-time rate by month
When to fly
Best time to fly DTW → SAN
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
On-time rates are fairly even by time of day on this route — ranging from 66% to 84% on time.
- Mornings84% on time · p90 20 min · 1,142 flights
- Middays83% on time · p90 25 min · 760 flights
- Afternoons74% on time · p90 50 min · 1,070 flights
- Overnights66% on time · p90 60 min · 733 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 73% to 83% on time.
- Tuesdays83% on time · p90 25 min · 477 flights
- Wednesdays81% on time · p90 30 min · 501 flights
- Saturdays80% on time · p90 30 min · 469 flights
- Mondays76% on time · p90 40 min · 573 flights
- Sundays75% on time · p90 45 min · 568 flights
- Fridays75% on time · p90 40 min · 572 flights
- Thursdays73% on time · p90 50 min · 567 flights
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