Detroit to Rochester

What the Data Says About DTW to ROC

The Detroit to Rochester corridor (DTW → ROC) covers roughly 296 miles and is served by 14 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 6,509 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 86.6% on-time rate with an average delay of 76.4 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,018 flights were recorded on this pairing — 14 cancelled (0.7%) and 2 diverted (0.1%). 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 6,509 total flights analyzed, the 86.6% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 76.4-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 2023 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Jan 2024 came in at 58% on-time — a 34-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DTW to ROC route, the combination of a 86.6% on-time rate, 76.4-minute average delay, 0.7% recent cancellation rate, and 14 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.