DTW to PHX flight delays
DTW PHX Detroit Wayne to Phoenix Sky Harbor · 1,671 miles
7,012 flights were scheduled from DTW to PHX over July 2023 through June 2026. Of the 6,944 that made the trip, 79% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. These are arrival figures: “on time” means the flight reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Arrivals are what decide whether you make the connection, so route and airline pages are scored on them rather than on pushback.
Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics
The route in brief
- Flights in the window
- 7,012
- Arrived on time
- 79%
- Cancelled
- 0.7%
- Scheduled distance
- 1,671 miles
Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled. Diverted flights are counted with them rather than as very late arrivals, which is why the on-time share and the cancellation rate do not add up to everything that happened.
Airline by airline
Airlines with at least 100 flights on DTW–PHX, busiest first. Same route, same weather, same air traffic — which makes this the fairest comparison on the site.
| Airline | Arrived on time | Typical delay | Cancelled | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 77.8% | 66 min | 0.6% | 4,063 |
| American Airlines | 82.3% | 115 min | 0.7% | 1,690 |
| Frontier Airlines | 77.4% | 104 min | 1.5% | 995 |
| Spirit Airlines | 85.6% | — | 1.4% | 143 |
| Southwest Airlines | 78.3% | — | 0.8% | 121 |
A dash under typical delay means fewer than 30 of that airline’s flights arrived 15 minutes late or more — too few to average.
Month by month
January was the month to avoid on DTW–PHX: 68.3% of flights arrived on time, against 85% in September. Each bar pools three years of that calendar month.
| Month | Share flights that arrived on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 68.3% | 521 |
| February | 75.5% | 471 |
| March | 82.5% | 619 |
| April | 79.5% | 631 |
| May | 78.1% | 620 |
| June | 78.7% | 600 |
| July | 76.6% | 632 |
| August | 80.6% | 561 |
| September | 85% | 568 |
| October | 84.8% | 609 |
| November | 80% | 567 |
| December | 76.5% | 613 |
Both ends of the route
A route’s record is built out of two airports’ habits. The hour-by-hour grid for each is on its own page.
DTW to PHX in one number
DTW → PHX
When a flight on this route was late, it was late by about 81 min.
Questions about DTW to PHX
- Which airline is most reliable from DTW to PHX?
- Spirit Airlines — its flights on this pairing arrived on time 85.6% of the time, with 143 scheduled. Frontier Airlines came in at 77.4% over 995 scheduled. Airlines with fewer than 100 flights on the route are not rated.
- What is the worst month to fly DTW to PHX?
- January, at 68.3% of arrivals on time, with 521 flights scheduled. September was the best of the year at 85%.
- How late are DTW–PHX flights when they are late?
- 81 min on average, counting only the flights that arrived 15 minutes or more behind schedule. The on-time flights are left out of that average on purpose — mixing them in would flatter it.
- How often is the DTW to PHX flight cancelled?
- 0.7% of scheduled flights on this route were cancelled, July 2023 through June 2026. Diverted flights are counted with the cancellations rather than as late arrivals.
- Are these departure or arrival numbers?
- Arrival. A flight counts as on time here if it reached the gate at PHX less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Airport pages score departures instead, because that is the number you can act on when you pick a booking time.