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WanderNerd

Route Reliability

Detroit → Phoenix

DTWPHX · 1,671 miles · Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

81
Pretty Reliable
WanderNerd Reliability Score
78%
Arrive within 15 minutes
9 min
Average arrival delay
0.7%
Cancelled
2,442
Flights in the data

Data through May 2026.

Who flies it best

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

  1. 1.Spirit Airlines86%143 flights
  2. 2.American Airlines81%628 flights
  3. 3.Frontier Airlines78%305 flights
  4. 4.Delta Air Lines75%1,336 flights

Not enough history to rank: Southwest Airlines (30 flights). We rank airlines only after 100 flights on the route.

What the data says

The 12–3 PM departure wins.

DTW–PHX flights departing between 12–3 PM arrived on time 82% of the time, versus 69% between 9 PM–12 AM.

Sunday scaries are real for this one.

DTW–PHX flights arrived on time 82% of the time on Wednesdays. On Sundays: 73%.

Spirit Airlines runs this route best.

Spirit Airlines arrived on time 86% of the time on this route; Delta Air Lines managed 75%.

Trending in the right direction.

DTW–PHX flights arrived on time 84% of the time over the last three months in the data, compared with 64% 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
  • Mon76%(358 flights)
  • Tue79%(310 flights)
  • Wed82%(310 flights)
  • Thu81%(366 flights)
  • Fri77%(348 flights)
  • Sat77%(341 flights)
  • Sun73%(382 flights)
On-time by departure window
  • 3–6 AM(6 flights)
  • 6–9 AM82%(877 flights)
  • 9 AM–12 PM81%(73 flights)
  • 12–3 PM82%(359 flights)
  • 3–6 PM71%(509 flights)
  • 6–9 PM75%(559 flights)
  • 9 PM–12 AM69%(32 flights)
On-time trend by month
81%
May

Jun 81% → May 81% on time

On-time arrival percentage by month
MonthOn-time percentageFlights
June 202581%215
July 202576%234
August 202584%185
September 202586%180
October 202586%214
November 202572%196
December 202559%216
January 202659%177
February 202675%158
March 202688%213
April 202683%211
May 202681%216

Based on 2,442 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.