Lansing to Detroit

What the Data Says About LAN to DTW

The Lansing to Detroit corridor (LAN → DTW) covers roughly 74 miles and is served by 4 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,909 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 86.5% on-time rate with an average delay of 102.6 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,929 flights were recorded on this pairing — 13 cancelled (0.7%) and 0 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 4 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 5,909 total flights analyzed, the 86.5% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 102.6-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 51% on-time — a 41-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the LAN to DTW route, the combination of a 86.5% on-time rate, 102.6-minute average delay, 0.7% recent cancellation rate, and 4 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.