New York to Detroit

What the Data Says About LGA to DTW

The New York to Detroit corridor (LGA → DTW) covers roughly 502 miles and is served by 15 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 21,397 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 83.9% on-time rate with an average delay of 83.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 8,141 flights were recorded on this pairing — 182 cancelled (2.2%) and 8 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 15 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 21,397 total flights analyzed, the 83.9% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 83.3-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, Sep 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 92% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 66% on-time — a 26-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the LGA to DTW route, the combination of a 83.9% on-time rate, 83.3-minute average delay, 2.2% recent cancellation rate, and 15 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.