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WanderNerd

Route Reliability

Detroit → Philadelphia

DTWPHL · 453 miles · Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to Philadelphia International Airport

76
Usually Fine
WanderNerd Reliability Score
79%
Arrive within 15 minutes
9 min
Average arrival delay
2.6%
Cancelled
3,012
Flights in the data

Data through May 2026.

Who flies it best

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

  1. 1.Spirit Airlines81%155 flights
  2. 2.Delta Air Lines79%1,677 flights
  3. 3.American Airlines78%1,117 flights

Not enough history to rank: Frontier Airlines (63 flights). We rank airlines only after 100 flights on the route.

What the data says

Morning flights do better here.

DTW–PHL flights departing between 3–6 AM arrived on time 95% of the time, versus 68% between 6–9 PM.

Sunday scaries are real for this one.

DTW–PHL flights arrived on time 84% of the time on Tuesdays. On Sundays: 75%.

Not much between Spirit Airlines and American Airlines.

On this route they all land within 78% to 81% on time. Pick on schedule and price.

Trending in the right direction.

DTW–PHL flights arrived on time 83% of the time over the last three months in the data, compared with 73% in the three months before that.

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
  • Mon77%(433 flights)
  • Tue84%(408 flights)
  • Wed80%(394 flights)
  • Thu80%(440 flights)
  • Fri77%(435 flights)
  • Sat80%(378 flights)
  • Sun75%(440 flights)
On-time by departure window
  • 3–6 AM95%(73 flights)
  • 6–9 AM87%(608 flights)
  • 9 AM–12 PM84%(680 flights)
  • 12–3 PM74%(359 flights)
  • 3–6 PM68%(623 flights)
  • 6–9 PM68%(213 flights)
  • 9 PM–12 AM81%(372 flights)
On-time trend by month
86%
May

Jun 81% → May 86% on time

On-time arrival percentage by month
MonthOn-time percentageFlights
June 202581%255
July 202566%275
August 202577%266
September 202588%265
October 202587%283
November 202580%235
December 202567%229
January 202674%203
February 202677%203
March 202681%233
April 202682%238
May 202686%243

Based on 3,012 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.