Detroit to Alpena

What the Data Says About DTW to APN

The Detroit to Alpena corridor (DTW → APN) covers roughly 198 miles and is served by 1 carrier, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 3,121 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 84.4% on-time rate with an average delay of 84.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,257 flights were recorded on this pairing — 44 cancelled (3.5%) and 9 diverted (0.7%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 1 carrier on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 3,121 total flights analyzed, the 84.4% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 84.7-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 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 98% on-time, while Dec 2024 came in at 61% on-time — a 37-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DTW to APN route, the combination of a 84.4% on-time rate, 84.7-minute average delay, 3.5% recent cancellation rate, and 1 available carrier is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.