Historical on-time performance
San Francisco to Detroit
2,079 miData through Dec 2025Source: US DOT · BTS
Flights on SFO–DTW arrive on time 81% of the time over the last 12 months.
On-time rate81%arrived within 15 min
p90 delay25 min1 in 10 flights is worse (tail risk)
Cancelled0.9%of scheduled flights
based on 1,786 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-time82%Medianon timep9025 minCancel0.8%Flights1,372
- United AirlinesOn-time80%Medianon timep9025 minCancel1.2%Flights414
Why flights run late
Delay causes
- Airline42%
- Weather1%
- Air traffic (NAS)14%
- Late aircraft42%
- 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 SFO → 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 — 91% on time.
- Mornings91% on time · p90 10 min · 1,311 flights
- Overnights80% on time · p90 30 min · 1,281 flights
- Afternoons79% on time · p90 30 min · 739 flights
- Middays78% on time · p90 40 min · 1,466 flights
Best day of week
On-time rates are fairly even by day on this route — ranging from 77% to 87% on time.
- Saturdays87% on time · p90 15 min · 607 flights
- Tuesdays87% on time · p90 15 min · 636 flights
- Wednesdays84% on time · p90 20 min · 647 flights
- Thursdays83% on time · p90 25 min · 728 flights
- Fridays80% on time · p90 30 min · 720 flights
- Mondays80% on time · p90 30 min · 727 flights
- Sundays77% on time · p90 40 min · 732 flights
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