Historical on-time performance
Houston to Detroit
1,076 miData through Dec 2025Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on IAH–DTW arrive on time 81% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate81%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay30 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.0%of scheduled flights
based on 2,108 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
Too close to call — no single carrier is clearly more on-time here.
- Delta Air LinesOn-time83%Medianon timep9030 minCancel0.9%Flights1,294
- United AirlinesOn-time72%Medianon timep9040 minCancel2.8%Flights247
- Spirit AirlinesOn-time82%Medianon timep9030 minCancel0.7%Flights567
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline52%
- Weather3%
- Air traffic (NAS)15%
- Late aircraft31%
- Security0%
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 IAH → DTW
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 · 1,886 flights
- Middays82% on time · p90 30 min · 1,768 flights
- Afternoons76% on time · p90 55 min · 1,417 flights
- Evenings71% on time · p90 70 min · 1,264 flights
- Overnights70% on time · p90 60 min · 689 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 77% to 81% on time.
- Tuesdays81% on time · p90 35 min · 986 flights
- Wednesdays81% on time · p90 30 min · 981 flights
- Saturdays80% on time · p90 40 min · 843 flights
- Sundays79% on time · p90 45 min · 1,038 flights
- Mondays79% on time · p90 40 min · 1,071 flights
- Thursdays79% on time · p90 50 min · 1,052 flights
- Fridays77% on time · p90 65 min · 1,053 flights
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