Detroit to New York

What the Data Says About DTW to LGA

The Detroit to New York corridor (DTW → LGA) covers roughly 502 miles and is served by 14 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 21,400 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 83% on-time rate with an average delay of 74.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 8,143 flights were recorded on this pairing — 171 cancelled (2.1%) and 20 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 14 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 21,400 total flights analyzed, the 83% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 74.3-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 91% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 68% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DTW to LGA route, the combination of a 83% on-time rate, 74.3-minute average delay, 2.1% recent cancellation rate, and 14 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.