Delta Air LinesDL83% on time
Flights DL1857 varies Mo Tu We Th Fr Su
live
Direct flights from Detroit (DTW) to Santa Ana (SNA): 6 nonstop departures observed each week across 1 airline. 83% of the last 6 operated flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. The median arrival is 16 minutes early. No cancellations were recorded across the 6 tracked flights. The nonstop covers 3,147 km, an estimated 4 hours 32 minutes in the air. Measured by Pro Flight Search from live flight boards at Detroit and Santa Ana. Updated 15 September 2026 at 01:51 UTC.
DTW
Detroit
smooth · +0
SNA
Santa Ana
smooth · +10
3,147 km · ~4h 32m est.
Runs reliable · 1 airline · 6x weekly · nonstop
83% on time
of the last 6 operated DTW → SNA flights arrived within 15 minutes
Median arrival delay is −16 min. 0 of 6 tracked legs cancelled in the sample. Will a delayed flight be cancelled? →
Median arrival−16 minacross the last 6 operated legs
Flight time~4h 32mestimated from route distance
Weekly departures6x1 direct airline on the leg
Who flies it
observed on the boards · 7 daysHistory
operated legs · board outcomesActual board outcomes rather than schedules, paired departure and arrival per flight and day.
Full board history, day by day →
Airports right now
live boardsWeather lens
Current conditions put the pressure at SNA: 29% odds of a 15+ minute delay and around +1 min expected when it bites, measured from this route's own weather-matched delay history. See live delays → · Weather risk by airport →
next sweep in 120s
How the Detroit to Santa Ana route actually runs
Pro Flight Search records official board updates for nonstop DTW to SNA flights through the day: schedules, estimates, gate pushes and actual departures. The verdict above comes from operated flights, so it reflects what this route does rather than what the timetable promises.
Planning around a delay? Live airport delays · Weather delay risk map · Will a delayed flight be cancelled? · Do planes make up time in the air? · How we measure
Cite this data
Journalists, bloggers, and researchers may cite this page with attribution and a link to Pro Flight Search.
Suggested citation
Pro Flight Search — Detroit (DTW) to Santa Ana (SNA) route reliability, measured from operated flights on official airport boards.
Canonical URL
How we measure this →
https://proflightsearch.com/search-flights/DTW-SNA
DTW to SNA questions
Is DTW–SNA running on time right now?
Smooth skies ahead. The arrival side at SNA is the weaker end, route health score 93/100. The airports section above carries the live status and delay window at both ends.
How long is the flight from DTW to SNA?
Great-circle distance is 3,147 km. With typical jet cruise speed plus taxi, climb and descent, expect roughly 252–300 min gate-to-gate on this route.
How often does DTW–SNA fly?
Delta Air Lines runs the route with about 6 flights a week (sun, mon, tue, wed, thu, fri). Since one carrier owns the route, a single disruption tends to ripple through the day.
What does the route health score measure?
A blend of departure-side delay at DTW and arrival-side delay at SNA, computed from rolling delay windows (refreshed every 40 minutes) with a daily-rollup fallback. Current MVFR, IFR, or LIFR endpoint weather caps the score when flight rules can limit throughput. Higher is healthier: 100 means operations are clean at both ends.
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