Itineraries flown on 20+ days in the Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026 schedule · each leg’s record Aug 2025 – Jul 2026

No clear winner: airlines and hours on this route all land within a few points of 78% on time.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Delta	DTW	CHS	2h 12m	78%	1.6%	863	Flying now
Spirit	DTW	CHS	2h 03m	89%few flights	0.0%	18	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Charleston on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included. Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


Delta Details →	DTW 05:17 → ATL 07:10DL 2375	3h 36m Atlanta	ATL 10:46 → CHS 12:00DL 3107	6h 43m	99%	89%
United Details →	DTW 07:05 → ORD 07:42UA 5553 · flown by SkyWest	2h 53m Chicago	ORD 10:35 → CHS 14:06UA 3646 · flown by Republic	7h 01m	96%	88%
Delta Details →	DTW 07:25 → ATL 09:26DL 965	3h 03m Atlanta	ATL 12:29 → CHS 13:41DL 2179	6h 16m	98%	83%
American Details →	DTW 07:00 → CLT 08:54AA 1439	2h 16m Charlotte	CLT 11:10 → CHS 12:19AA 1658	5h 19m	97%	82%
Delta Details →	DTW 09:25 → ATL 11:25DL 2777	3h 17m Atlanta	ATL 14:42 → CHS 15:58DL 1381	6h 33m	98%	81%
Delta Details →	DTW 14:57 → ATL 17:05DL 1983	2h 28m Atlanta	ATL 19:33 → CHS 20:47DL 2493	5h 50m	99%	81%
Southwest Details →	DTW 05:50 → BWI 07:20WN 4534	55m Baltimore	BWI 08:15 → CHS 10:02WN 898	4h 13m	89%	81%
Delta Details →	DTW 07:01 → MSP 07:55DL 1746	2h 35m Minneapolis	MSP 10:30 → CHS 14:16DL 2463	7h 15m	97%	80%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	DTW 13:41 → CLT 15:35AA 1781	52m Charlotte	CLT 16:27 → CHS 17:46AA 5672 · flown by PSA	4h 05m	70%	46%
American Details →	DTW 19:58 → CLT 21:55AA 1794	55m Charlotte	CLT 22:50 → CHS 23:59AA 1141	4h 00m	69%	43%
American Details →	DTW 17:29 → DCA 19:15AA 5172 · flown by PSA	57m Washington	DCA 20:12 → CHS 21:54AA 1278	4h 25m	43%	18%

Same layover, different day-part

How often the first flight arrives too late to connect (45 min minimum), for one-ticket layovers of 45–80 minutes.

Morning

ATL · 1h 20m · leaves 07:25 6%

EWR · 1h 10m · leaves 09:07 6%

CLT · 1h 08m · leaves 06:00 7%

Afternoon and evening

CLT · 55m · leaves 19:58 31%

DCA · 57m · leaves 17:29 57%

BWI · 1h 00m · leaves 17:45 70%

Delays build through the day, so an afternoon first leg eats the layover. A short connection is fine early in the morning and a gamble later on.

Mixing airlines

One ticketMiss it and the airline rebooks you; bags go through. 45 min is enough.

Separate ticketsMiss it and you buy a new ticket. Re-check bags, clear security again: we require 90 min.


American AA 6465 DTW 06:45 → ORD United UA 3646 ORD 10:35 → CHS Connection details →	3h 05m	7h 21m	96%	86%
United UA 3483 DTW 05:30 → ORD American AA 2452 ORD 08:30 → CHS Connection details →	2h 37m	6h 24m	100%	85%
Delta DL 2884 DTW 08:50 → IAD United UA 3487 IAD 12:35 → CHS Connection details →	2h 12m	5h 37m	93%	83%

Rank all connections, any airlines →

Regional partners count as the airline that sells them: SkyWest flying Delta Connection is one Delta ticket.

How these are worked out. Makes the connection: share of the last year’s flights where the first flight arrived with at least 45 minutes to spare (90 on separate tickets). Arrives on time: first flight not cancelled × connection made × second flight not cancelled and arriving within 15 minutes. Not yet counted: the second flight also leaving late (which helps), gate-to-gate distance at the hub, and rebooking after a missed connection.

About this data: US DOT on-time records, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, all US airlines; regional flights count under the airline that sells them. Schedules (which flights and connections exist, and their times) are as of Jun 6 – Jul 31, 2026; seasonal flights outside that window aren’t ranked. Rebuilt monthly. JSON