Denver to Detroit

What the Data Says About DEN to DTW

The Denver to Detroit corridor (DEN → DTW) covers roughly 1,123 miles and is served by 31 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 16,944 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 63.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 5,993 flights were recorded on this pairing — 29 cancelled (0.5%) and 13 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 31 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 16,944 total flights analyzed, the 80.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 63.8-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, Sep 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 90% on-time, while Jun 2025 came in at 67% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DEN to DTW route, the combination of a 80.5% on-time rate, 63.8-minute average delay, 0.5% recent cancellation rate, and 31 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.