Detroit to Knoxville

What the Data Says About DTW to TYS

The Detroit to Knoxville corridor (DTW → TYS) covers roughly 443 miles and is served by 2 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 3,205 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 88.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 75.9 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,016 flights were recorded on this pairing — 9 cancelled (0.9%) and 2 diverted (0.2%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 2 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 3,205 total flights analyzed, the 88.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 75.9-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, Sep 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 97% on-time, while Aug 2023 came in at 74% on-time — a 22-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the DTW to TYS route, the combination of a 88.9% on-time rate, 75.9-minute average delay, 0.9% recent cancellation rate, and 2 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.