Flights Detroit → Chicago
DTW → ORD
Route overview
The flight route from Detroit to Chicago operates with a high frequency of 1517 flights, featuring various aircraft models including the Embraer 175 and Airbus A320. With an on-time performance rate of 79%, these flights experience an average delay of 20.8 minutes, serving one of the busiest destination airports in terms of annual passenger traffic at 80,071,737 passengers per year.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Detroit (DTW) → Chicago (ORD) route is operated by American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines. Across 1913 flights monitored in recent months, 78% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 23 minutes. The cancellation rate is 4.55%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 26/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Chicago the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Detroit the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to Chicago: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Detroit (DTW) to Chicago (ORD) heads west for about 376 km, a flight time of roughly 53m.
Departures from Detroit on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 44% of DTW-ORD flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Detroit the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into Chicago it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 1,913 tracked DTW-ORD flights, 78% left on time with an average delay of 23 min and a 4.5% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
Check the risk of a specific flight.
Flexible on this trip? Compare flights
Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines (DL) | 80% | 8 min | 1.8% |
| United Airlines (UA) | 74% | 10 min | 6.9% |
| American Airlines (AA) | 74% | 16 min | 3.0% |
Airlines operating DTW-ORD
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DTW-ORD
On the Detroit (DTW) -> Chicago (ORD) route, on-time performance is 78% with an average delay of 23 minutes, based on 1913 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Detroit-Chicago is 4.55% across 1913 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 3 airlines: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Chicago, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.