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Route Reliability

Washington → Detroit

DCA–DTW · 405 miles · Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

68
Usually Fine
WanderNerd Reliability Score
77%
Arrive within 15 minutes
12 min
Average arrival delay
3.8%
Cancelled
2,976
Flights in the data

Data through May 2026.

Who flies it best

Ranked by on-time arrivals. Historical results, not predictions.

  1. 1.Delta Air Lines79%1,750 flights
  2. 2.American Airlines73%1,226 flights

What the data says

Morning flights do better here.

DCA–DTW flights departing between 6–9 AM arrived on time 91% of the time, versus 57% between 9 PM–12 AM.

Thursday is the weak spot.

DCA–DTW flights arrived on time 85% of the time on Saturdays. On Thursdays: 73%.

Delta Air Lines has a slight edge here.

Delta Air Lines arrived on time 79% of the time on this route; American Airlines managed 73%.

Keep a backup plan handy.

This route was cancelled 3.8% of the time. Typical for U.S. flights is around 1–2%.

Best historical flights

Ranked by on-time arrivals, minimum 100 flights. Past performance, not a promise.

Top flights by on-time rate

More flights on this route

The breakdown

On-time by weekday
  • Mon74%(428 flights)
  • Tue81%(431 flights)
  • Wed75%(429 flights)
  • Thu73%(432 flights)
  • Fri74%(422 flights)
  • Sat85%(328 flights)
  • Sun75%(388 flights)
On-time by departure window
  • 6–9 AM91%(648 flights)
  • 9 AM–12 PM84%(509 flights)
  • 12–3 PM80%(550 flights)
  • 3–6 PM63%(541 flights)
  • 6–9 PM67%(512 flights)
  • 9 PM–12 AM57%(98 flights)
On-time trend by month
80%
May

Jun 68% → May 80% on time

On-time arrival percentage by month
MonthOn-time percentageFlights
June 202568%213
July 202567%216
August 202582%229
September 202588%248
October 202588%258
November 202573%244
December 202568%230
January 202673%227
February 202676%230
March 202674%253
April 202679%257
May 202680%253

Same trip, other airports

Keep nerding

Based on 2,976 historical flights, because apparently we checked. Historical flight data: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, June 2025 – May 2026. Data through May 2026. How we calculate this.