Detroit to Chicago

What the Data Says About DTW to ORD

The Detroit to Chicago corridor (DTW → ORD) covers roughly 235 miles and is served by 58 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 29,443 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 82.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 85.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 11,381 flights were recorded on this pairing — 192 cancelled (1.7%) and 15 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 58 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 29,443 total flights analyzed, the 82.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 85.7-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, Feb 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 57% on-time — a 35-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DTW to ORD route, the combination of a 82.5% on-time rate, 85.7-minute average delay, 1.7% recent cancellation rate, and 58 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.