Flights Seattle → Detroit
SEA → DTW
How long is the flight from Seattle to Detroit?
The flight from Seattle (SEA) to Detroit (DTW) takes 3h 42m on average. That is the median time recorded across 5 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
Route overview
The flight route from Seattle to Detroit has an on-time performance rate of 86%, with an average delay of 8.1 minutes per flight. Over the course of a year, this route sees approximately 432 flights using various Boeing aircraft models including the 757-300 and 737-800. The destination airport in Detroit handles nearly 28 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 Seattle (SEA) → Detroit (DTW) route is operated by Delta Air Lines. Across 1260 flights monitored in recent months, 85% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 8 minutes. The cancellation rate is 1.35%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 22.8/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Detroit the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Seattle the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Detroit: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Seattle (SEA) to Detroit (DTW) heads east for about 3,093 km, a flight time of roughly 3h 42m.
Departures from Seattle on this leg cluster in the overnight window: about 50% of SEA-DTW flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Seattle the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Detroit it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 1,260 tracked SEA-DTW flights, 85% left on time with an average delay of 8 min and a 1.4% 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) | 85% | 1 min | 0.8% |
Airlines operating SEA-DTW
Airports
Frequently asked questions about SEA-DTW
The flight from Seattle (SEA) to Detroit (DTW) takes 3h 42m on average. That is the median time recorded across 5 scheduled flights on this leg; the actual time varies by a few minutes with wind, routing and take-off queues.
On the Seattle (SEA) -> Detroit (DTW) route, on-time performance is 85% with an average delay of 8 minutes, based on 1260 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Seattle-Detroit is 1.35% across 1260 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 Detroit, 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.
