Washington to Detroit

What the Data Says About IAD to DTW

The Washington to Detroit corridor (IAD → DTW) covers roughly 383 miles and is served by 39 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 9,219 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 84.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 98.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 2,382 flights were recorded on this pairing — 11 cancelled (0.5%) and 1 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 39 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 9,219 total flights analyzed, the 84.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 98.3-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 94% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 56% on-time — a 38-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the IAD to DTW route, the combination of a 84.9% on-time rate, 98.3-minute average delay, 0.5% recent cancellation rate, and 39 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.