Detroit to Cleveland

What the Data Says About DTW to CLE

The Detroit to Cleveland corridor (DTW → CLE) covers roughly 95 miles and is served by 25 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 7,904 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 84.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 81.5 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,249 flights were recorded on this pairing — 16 cancelled (0.7%) and 2 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 25 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 7,904 total flights analyzed, the 84.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 81.5-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, Oct 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 94% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 56% on-time — a 38-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DTW to CLE route, the combination of a 84.5% on-time rate, 81.5-minute average delay, 0.7% recent cancellation rate, and 25 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.