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 7% of the time at 9 am and 43% of the time at 8 pm.

Nonstops


American	DTW	ORD	1h 35m	75%	3.5%	1,777	Flying now
United	DTW	ORD	1h 33m	75%	3.1%	2,449	Flying now
Delta	DTW	ORD	1h 30m	70%	3.2%	1,872	Flying now
Spirit	DTW	ORD	–	0%few flights	0.0%	2	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


American Details →	DTW 07:00 → CLT 08:54AA 1439	2h 07m Charlotte	CLT 11:01 → ORD 12:19AA 2908	6h 19m	97%	87%
United Details →	DTW 06:15 → IAH 08:11UA 1229	1h 24m Houston	IAH 09:35 → ORD 12:29UA 2124	7h 14m	100%	85%
United Details →	DTW 06:00 → IAD 07:34UA 4058 · flown by Mesa	2h 57m Dulles	IAD 10:31 → ORD 11:53UA 1252	6h 53m	92%	84%
United Details →	DTW 10:13 → IAD 11:50UA 3500 · flown by Republic	1h 25m Dulles	IAD 13:15 → ORD 14:29UA 2331	5h 16m	96%	77%
American Details →	DTW 06:00 → CLT 07:51AA 387	1h 51m Charlotte	CLT 09:42 → ORD 11:00AA 1038	6h 00m	96%	76%
United Details →	DTW 06:00 → EWR 07:45UA 3652 · flown by Republic	2h 39m Newark	EWR 10:24 → ORD 12:06UA 1525	7h 06m	98%	74%
Delta Details →	DTW 07:25 → ATL 09:26DL 965	3h 36m Atlanta	ATL 13:02 → ORD 14:16DL 1477	7h 51m	99%	74%
American Details →	DTW 06:05 → PHL 07:51AA 5170 · flown by PSA	2h 44m Philadelphia	PHL 10:35 → ORD 12:09AA 1041	7h 04m	95%	73%
Tight connection: often missed
Delta Details →	DTW 17:59 → LGA 19:50DL 2604	55m New York	LGA 20:45 → ORD 22:36DL 2806	5h 35m	57%	30%
American Details →	DTW 17:29 → DCA 19:15AA 5172 · flown by PSA	51m Washington	DCA 20:06 → ORD 21:42AA 2903	5h 13m	38%	25%
American Details →	DTW 15:52 → DFW 17:50AA 1793	48m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:38 → ORD 21:22AA 1424	6h 30m	53%	19%

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

CLT · 1h 12m · leaves 10:01 6%

PHL · 1h 07m · leaves 06:05 12%

LGA · 1h 01m · leaves 06:00 12%

Afternoon and evening

DFW · 48m · leaves 15:52 47%

ATL · 1h 16m · leaves 14:56 50%

DCA · 51m · leaves 17:29 62%

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.


Delta DL 3697 DTW 07:14 → ALB United UA 2825 ALB 12:20 → ORD Connection details →	3h 24m	7h 42m	100%	92%
Southwest WN 4534 DTW 05:50 → BWI United UA 704 BWI 10:32 → ORD Connection details →	3h 12m	6h 58m	100%	90%
Southwest WN 1783 DTW 07:00 → STL American AA 4104 STL 09:08 → ORD Connection details →	1h 33m	4h 36m	94%	88%

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