Flights Detroit → San Francisco
DTW → SFO
Route overview
The flight route from Detroit to San Francisco operates with a high level of punctuality, with 83% of flights arriving on time. Over the year, there have been 403 total flights on this route, experiencing an average delay of 12.5 minutes when delays do occur. The aircraft used include Boeing 737-900, Boeing 767-300, and Boeing 737-800 models, serving a destination airport that sees over fifty million passengers annually.
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) → San Francisco (SFO) route is operated by Delta Air Lines. Across 499 flights monitored in recent months, 81% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 14 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.20%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 22.4/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At San Francisco the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Detroit the average ATFM delay is 2.0 minutes.
Heading to San Francisco: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Detroit (DTW) to San Francisco (SFO) heads west for about 3,337 km, a flight time of roughly 4h 35m.
Departures from Detroit on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 42% of DTW-SFO flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Detroit the average ATFM delay is 2.0 min (atfm); arriving into San Francisco it is 2.0 min (atfm).
Across 499 tracked DTW-SFO flights, 81% left on time with an average delay of 14 min and a 1.2% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines (DL) | 80% | 8 min | 1.8% |
Airlines operating DTW-SFO
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DTW-SFO
On the Detroit (DTW) -> San Francisco (SFO) route, on-time performance is 81% with an average delay of 14 minutes, based on 499 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Detroit-San Francisco is 1.20% across 499 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: Delta Air Lines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at San Francisco, 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.
