Route reliability
Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Detroit (DTW): which airline is most on time?
On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) to Detroit, MI (DTW), September 2025 to August 2026.
Dallas/Fort Worth, TXDetroit, MI
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
DFW to DTW
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX to Detroit, MI
- On time
- 74.8%vs 75.6% U.S. average About average
- Cancelled
- 1.9%vs 1.9% U.S. average About average
- 60+ min late
- 9.4%vs 8.1% U.S. average Worse than average
- Scheduled flights
- 3,482in 12 months5 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- Delta Air Lines83.3% on time · 1,405 flights
On time about as often as the U.S. average, with a typical cancellation rate.
Airlines on this route
Ranked by on-time arrival
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Avg delay when late | Diverted | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Delta Air Lines Most reliable | 83.3% | 1.6% | 6.3% | 95 min | 0.1% | 1,405 |
| 2. Spirit Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) | 79.1% | 1.3% | 9.2% | 91 min | 0.0% | 153 |
| 3. Frontier Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) | 77.4% | 1.4% | 8.0% | 69 min | 0.3% | 287 |
| 4. American Airlines | 66.3% | 2.3% | 12.4% | 66 min | 0.2% | 1,623 |
| Envoy Air Operating carrier; sold as American Eagle | Insufficient sample (fewer than 50 flights) | 14 | ||||
On time = arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. Avg delay when late = average arrival delay of flights 15+ minutes late. "Most reliable" needs at least 300 flights in 12 months. Tap a heading to sort.
What this means
Delta Air Lines has the strongest record on this route.
- Delta Air Lines had the best on-time record from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to Detroit (DTW): 83.3% of its 1,405 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 66.3% for American Airlines.
- Envoy Air also flew this route but with fewer than 50 reported flights, too few to rate.
- 1.9% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 53), about the same as the U.S. average of 1.9%.
- 9.4% of flights, about 1 in 11, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 75 min.
- Overall, 74.8% of flights on this route arrived on time, 0.8 points lower than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- Over the last 3 years, February was the most reliable month on this route (84.1% on time) and May the least reliable (64.8%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 5.2% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (92.1% on time); flights scheduled to depart 7 pm to 8 pm were the least (54.5%).
- In the other direction, Detroit (DTW) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), 73.6% of flights were on time and 2.2% were cancelled. Compare airlines DTW to DFW.
Best and worst months to fly DFW to DTW
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 74.8%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70.7% | 844 |
| February | 84.1% | 774 |
| March | 75.6% | 923 |
| April | 74.0% | 929 |
| May | 64.8% | 965 |
| June | 67.2% | 930 |
| July | 66.4% | 969 |
| August | 77.2% | 937 |
| September | 79.7% | 859 |
| October | 83.9% | 986 |
| November | 78.8% | 926 |
| December | 76.7% | 894 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | October (92.5%) | May (71.0%) |
| Spirit Airlines | February (87.7%) | May (59.1%) |
| American Airlines | October (80.5%) | May (59.6%) |
Month by month, last 12 months
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 83.7% | 289 |
| Oct 2025 | 83.5% | 310 |
| Nov 2025 | 74.3% | 300 |
| Dec 2025 | 70.1% | 304 |
| Jan 2026 | 64.0% | 261 |
| Feb 2026 | 81.7% | 224 |
| Mar 2026 | 73.3% | 281 |
| Apr 2026 | 77.3% | 300 |
| May 2026 | 75.4% | 301 |
| Jun 2026 | 64.2% | 288 |
| Jul 2026 | 66.0% | 318 |
| Aug 2026 | 83.7% | 306 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 92.1% | 367 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 91.4% | 140 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 85.2% | 366 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | Insufficient sample | 34 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 87.4% | 103 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 74.4% | 618 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 66.2% | 80 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 80.3% | 381 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 68.3% | 218 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 59.4% | 249 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | Insufficient sample | 20 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 71.6% | 201 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 68.4% | 402 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 54.5% | 235 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 52.9% | 68 |
Sources & data dates
- Source
- U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987-present)
- Period
- September 2025 to August 2026 (12 months); month-of-year patterns September 2023 to August 2026
- Data through
- August 2026
- Processed
- 2026-11-03
- Scope
- Nonstop scheduled flights from Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) to Detroit, MI (DTW), one direction. Airlines that report to the DOT only.
- Method
- Rates use all scheduled flights as the denominator; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Figures based on fewer than 50 scheduled flights are suppressed. Full methodology.