Richmond to Detroit

What the Data Says About RIC to DTW

The Richmond to Detroit corridor (RIC → DTW) covers roughly 456 miles and is served by 22 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 4,952 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 86% on-time rate with an average delay of 95.7 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,834 flights were recorded on this pairing — 16 cancelled (0.9%) and 1 diverted (0.1%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 22 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 4,952 total flights analyzed, the 86% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 95.7-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, Jul 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 95% on-time, while Jul 2025 came in at 72% on-time — a 23-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the RIC to DTW route, the combination of a 86% on-time rate, 95.7-minute average delay, 0.9% recent cancellation rate, and 22 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.