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 4 in 5 on time.

Nonstops (seasonal or thin)


Delta	ORF	DTW	2h 02m	80%	1.4%	977	Flying now
Spirit	ORF	DTW	–	85%few flights	0.0%	13	Not flying now

Best connections, one ticket

Most reliable Quickest (80%+ on time)

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


United Details →	ORF 06:05 → IAD 07:07UA 1524	1h 28m Dulles	IAD 08:35 → DTW 10:14UA 6137 · flown by Mesa	4h 09m	99%	88%
American Details →	ORF 05:01 → CLT 06:19AA 3168	1h 09m Charlotte	CLT 07:28 → DTW 09:17AA 1791	4h 16m	99%	88%
United Details →	ORF 06:15 → IAH 08:20UA 2302	1h 25m Houston	IAH 09:45 → DTW 13:42UA 4064 · flown by Mesa	7h 27m	97%	87%
Delta Details →	ORF 05:15 → ATL 06:58DL 2966	2h 20m Atlanta	ATL 09:18 → DTW 11:10DL 1298	5h 57m	97%	82%
Delta Details →	ORF 06:20 → ATL 08:10DL 1364	2h 50m Atlanta	ATL 11:00 → DTW 12:55DL 1240	6h 36m	99%	82%
American Details →	ORF 06:44 → ORD 08:25AA 4683 · flown by Republic	1h 35m Chicago	ORD 10:00 → DTW 12:32AA 3498 · flown by Envoy	5h 50m	94%	80%
Delta Details →	ORF 10:16 → ATL 12:05DL 1336	1h 42m Atlanta	ATL 13:47 → DTW 15:43DL 1031	5h 26m	98%	79%
Delta Details →	ORF 06:04 → LGA 07:30DL 5334 · flown by Endeavor	1h 55m New York	LGA 09:25 → DTW 11:25DL 1078	5h 20m	92%	77%
Tight connection: often missed
American Details →	ORF 11:24 → CLT 12:55AA 5331 · flown by PSA	48m Charlotte	CLT 13:43 → DTW 15:31AA 1770	4h 07m	60%	41%
JetBlue Details →	ORF 18:00 → BOS 19:43B6 1814	50m Boston	BOS 20:33 → DTW 22:45B6 1337	4h 45m	66%	36%
American Details →	ORF 15:17 → DFW 17:41AA 2262	1h 06m Dallas-Fort Worth	DFW 18:47 → DTW 22:36AA 3108	7h 19m	72%	35%

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 09m · leaves 05:01 1%

ATL · 1h 17m · leaves 05:15 5%

IAD · 1h 07m · leaves 10:45 7%

Afternoon and evening

BOS · 50m · leaves 18:00 34%

CLT · 1h 01m · leaves 20:20 41%

LGA · 56m · leaves 18:11 41%

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 3168 ORF 05:01 → CLT Delta DL 1639 CLT 09:42 → DTW Connection details →	3h 23m	6h 29m	100%	89%
Southwest WN 3183 ORF 06:00 → BWI Delta DL 2341 BWI 09:39 → DTW Connection details →	2h 39m	5h 07m	98%	84%
American AA 4683 ORF 06:44 → ORD Delta DL 3673 ORD 11:30 → DTW Connection details →	3h 05m	7h 15m	98%	81%

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