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 77% on time.

Nonstops


American	DTW	PHX	4h 22m	81%	0.6%	628	Flying now
Delta	DTW	PHX	4h 07m	76%	0.5%	1,334	Flying now
Frontier	DTW	PHX	4h 21m	72%	1.0%	310	Flying now
Spirit	DTW	PHX	4h 35m	86%	2.1%	94	Not flying now
Southwest	DTW	PHX	–	80%few flights	0.0%	30	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

Ranked by chance you reach Phoenix on time. Total trip = scheduled departure to arrival, layover included (Phoenix is 3 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	3h 09m Chicago	ORD 09:02 → PHX 11:03UA 2225	8h 33m	100%	89%
Delta Details →	DTW 12:25 → SLC 14:19DL 935	3h 06m Salt Lake City	SLC 17:25 → PHX 18:07DL 1451	8h 42m	99%	89%
Southwest Details →	DTW 05:30 → DEN 06:35WN 1778	2h 05m Denver	DEN 08:40 → PHX 09:35WN 431	7h 05m	98%	88%
Delta Details →	DTW 12:38 → LAX 14:28DL 634	3h 13m Los Angeles	LAX 17:41 → PHX 19:15DL 4077 · flown by SkyWest	9h 37m	100%	87%
Delta Details →	DTW 17:40 → SLC 19:38DL 765	3h 07m Salt Lake City	SLC 22:45 → PHX 23:31DL 1496	8h 51m	98%	86%
United Details →	DTW 06:00 → EWR 07:45UA 3652 · flown by Republic	3h 39m Newark	EWR 11:24 → PHX 13:39UA 370	10h 39m	99%	86%
Delta Details →	DTW 07:00 → SLC 08:54DL 3229	2h 36m Salt Lake City	SLC 11:30 → PHX 12:12DL 1431	8h 14m	100%	86%
American Details →	DTW 07:00 → CLT 08:54AA 1439	2h 43m Charlotte	CLT 11:37 → PHX 12:56AA 588	8h 56m	98%	85%
Tight connection: often missed
Alaska Details →	DTW 07:01 → SEA 09:00AS 344	59m Seattle	SEA 09:59 → PHX 13:01AS 593	9h 00m	69%	51%
Frontier Details →	DTW 08:52 → IAH 10:59F9 1957	55m Houston	IAH 11:54 → PHX 12:42F9 1703	6h 50m	63%	43%
Southwest Details →	DTW 16:42 → DEN 17:48WN 4450	1h 07m Denver	DEN 18:55 → PHX 19:50WN 1683	6h 13m	47%	14%

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 19m · leaves 10:01 4%

SLC · 1h 07m · leaves 08:25 8%

ATL · 1h 00m · leaves 05:17 8%

Afternoon and evening

DEN · 1h 07m · leaves 16:42 53%

DFW · 49m · leaves 19:30 54%

STL · 55m · leaves 20:15 60%

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 523 DTW 08:30 → LAX United UA 5450 LAX 13:05 → PHX Connection details →	2h 45m	9h 12m	97%	93%
Delta DL 883 DTW 15:50 → LAX United UA 5458 LAX 21:22 → PHX Connection details →	3h 43m	10h 09m	99%	91%
Delta DL 634 DTW 12:38 → LAX United UA 5457 LAX 16:22 → PHX Connection details →	1h 54m	8h 21m	90%	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