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

Connect in the morning. The same one-hour layover misses 13% of the time at 8 am and 30% of the time at 8 pm.

Nonstops


Delta	DTW	DSM	1h 59m	75%	1.8%	1,009	Flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Des Moines on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Des Moines is 1 h behind Detroit). Layovers up to 4 hours. Pick a connection for the details.


United Details →	DTW 05:30 → ORD 05:53UA 3483 · flown by Republic	2h 49m Chicago	ORD 08:42 → DSM 10:17UA 1803	5h 47m	100%	90%
Delta Details →	DTW 07:25 → ATL 09:26DL 965	2h 59m Atlanta	ATL 12:25 → DSM 13:34DL 2094	7h 09m	98%	88%
American Details →	DTW 06:45 → ORD 07:30AA 6465 · flown by SkyWest	4h 00m Chicago	ORD 11:30 → DSM 13:05AA 4676 · flown by Republic	7h 20m	99%	86%
Delta Details →	DTW 05:17 → ATL 07:10DL 2375	2h 23m Atlanta	ATL 09:33 → DSM 10:45DL 1704	6h 29m	97%	82%
Southwest Details →	DTW 08:40 → MDW 08:55WN 1781	1h 15m Chicago	MDW 10:10 → DSM 11:30WN 1771	3h 50m	96%	81%
Delta Details →	DTW 12:20 → MSP 13:14DL 2697	2h 26m Minneapolis	MSP 15:40 → DSM 16:54DL 4913 · flown by Endeavor	5h 34m	99%	78%
Delta Details →	DTW 16:00 → ATL 18:04DL 1467	3h 11m Atlanta	ATL 21:15 → DSM 22:31DL 2306	7h 31m	98%	78%
United Details →	DTW 08:50 → ORD 09:22UA 1338	3h 37m Chicago	ORD 12:59 → DSM 14:27UA 1781	6h 37m	97%	78%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	DTW 18:09 → ATL 20:19DL 2053	56m Atlanta	ATL 21:15 → DSM 22:31DL 2306	5h 22m	70%	56%
Delta Details →	DTW 18:10 → MSP 19:08DL 1842	46m Minneapolis	MSP 19:54 → DSM 21:08DL 5253 · flown by Endeavor	3h 58m	60%	43%
American Details →	DTW 19:58 → CLT 21:55AA 1794	49m Charlotte	CLT 22:44 → DSM 00:09 +1AA 2241	5h 13m	65%	32%

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

MDW · 1h 15m · leaves 08:40 4%

MSP · 1h 05m · leaves 07:01 13%

ATL · 1h 00m · leaves 09:25 14%

Afternoon and evening

MSP · 46m · leaves 18:10 40%

ORD · 48m · leaves 18:20 54%

DCA · 1h 00m · leaves 17:29 55%

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.


United UA 5553 DTW 07:05 → ORD American AA 4676 ORD 11:30 → DSM Connection details →	3h 48m	7h 00m	97%	86%
Frontier F9 2211 DTW 08:00 → DEN Southwest WN 1524 DEN 12:05 → DSM Connection details →	2h 49m	7h 50m	95%	83%
American AA 4103 DTW 10:33 → ORD United UA 1781 ORD 12:59 → DSM Connection details →	1h 55m	4h 54m	97%	82%

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