Detroit to Charlotte

What the Data Says About DTW to CLT

The Detroit to Charlotte corridor (DTW → CLT) covers roughly 500 miles and is served by 36 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 19,717 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 86.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 84.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 7,627 flights were recorded on this pairing — 65 cancelled (0.9%) and 10 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 36 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 19,717 total flights analyzed, the 86.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 84.6-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 Dec 2025 came in at 72% on-time — a 22-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DTW to CLT route, the combination of a 86.8% on-time rate, 84.6-minute average delay, 0.9% recent cancellation rate, and 36 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.