Washington to Detroit

What the Data Says About DCA to DTW

The Washington to Detroit corridor (DCA → DTW) covers roughly 405 miles and is served by 26 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 14,880 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 84.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 82.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,524 flights were recorded on this pairing — 145 cancelled (2.6%) and 1 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 26 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 14,880 total flights analyzed, the 84.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 82.8-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 94% on-time, while Feb 2025 came in at 65% on-time — a 29-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DCA to DTW route, the combination of a 84.9% on-time rate, 82.8-minute average delay, 2.6% recent cancellation rate, and 26 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.