Chicago to Detroit

What the Data Says About MDW to DTW

The Chicago to Detroit corridor (MDW → DTW) covers roughly 228 miles and is served by 9 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 11,336 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 80.8% on-time rate with an average delay of 66.8 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 3,902 flights were recorded on this pairing — 36 cancelled (0.9%) and 0 diverted (0.0%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 9 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 11,336 total flights analyzed, the 80.8% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 66.8-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, Nov 2025 posted the best performance on this corridor at 91% on-time, while Dec 2025 came in at 66% on-time — a 25-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MDW to DTW route, the combination of a 80.8% on-time rate, 66.8-minute average delay, 0.9% recent cancellation rate, and 9 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.