Historical on-time performance
New York to Detroit
508 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on JFK–DTW arrive on time 72% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate72%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay75 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled2.3%of scheduled flights
based on 1,121 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Delta Air LinesbestOn-time77%Medianon timep9070 minCancel1.7%Flights704
- JetBlue AirwaysOn-time64%Medianon timep9080 minCancel3.4%Flights417
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline35%
- Weather3%
- Air traffic (NAS)19%
- Late aircraft43%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Late aircraft.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline19%
- Weather62%
- Air traffic (NAS)19%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Weather. Shares are among 26 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 JFK → DTW
All airlines · rolling 36 months (2023-06 .. 2026-05).
Best time of day
Mornings are the most reliable time of day to fly this route — 89% on time.
- Mornings89% on time · p90 10 min · 791 flights
- Middays82% on time · p90 35 min · 1,042 flights
- Afternoons75% on time · p90 65 min · 982 flights
- Evenings67% on time · p90 100 min · 1,115 flights
- Overnights55% on time · p90 100 min · 614 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 70% to 77% on time.
- Tuesdays77% on time · p90 55 min · 649 flights
- Wednesdays77% on time · p90 65 min · 639 flights
- Thursdays76% on time · p90 65 min · 654 flights
- Mondays76% on time · p90 65 min · 658 flights
- Fridays74% on time · p90 65 min · 661 flights
- Saturdays72% on time · p90 70 min · 622 flights
- Sundays70% on time · p90 80 min · 661 flights
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