Historical on-time performance
Los Angeles to Detroit
1,979 miData through May 2026Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on LAX–DTW arrive on time 81% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate81%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay35 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled1.0%of scheduled flights
based on 2,600 flights over the last 12 months. On-time means arriving within 15 minutes (BTS standard).
By airline
How each carrier compares
- Delta Air LinesbestOn-time82%Medianon timep9030 minCancel0.9%Flights1,999
- Spirit AirlinesOn-time78%Medianon timep9055 minCancel1.7%Flights601
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline49%
- Weather3%
- Air traffic (NAS)16%
- Late aircraft32%
- Security0%
Most delay minutes here are attributed to Airline.
When flights don't go
Why flights were cancelled
- Airline78%
- Weather22%
- Air traffic (NAS)0%
- Security0%
Most cancellations here are attributed to Airline. Shares are among 27 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 LAX → 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 15 min · 2,753 flights
- Middays83% on time · p90 30 min · 1,802 flights
- Afternoons79% on time · p90 35 min · 1,142 flights
- Overnights78% on time · p90 40 min · 2,178 flights
- Evenings78% on time · p90 50 min · 223 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 80% to 86% on time.
- Tuesdays86% on time · p90 20 min · 1,127 flights
- Wednesdays85% on time · p90 20 min · 1,134 flights
- Saturdays84% on time · p90 25 min · 1,094 flights
- Fridays83% on time · p90 25 min · 1,218 flights
- Thursdays81% on time · p90 30 min · 1,194 flights
- Sundays80% on time · p90 30 min · 1,201 flights
- Mondays80% on time · p90 35 min · 1,195 flights
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