Great-circle route ORD ↔ DTW. Faint dots are other airports, for geographic context. Download this map — free to reuse with a link back to this page.
Frequencies below are per direction, from our most recent schedule sample. The two directions are not identical — that is normal on scheduled routes.
| Direction | Frequency | Days | Airlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORD → DTW Chicago to Detroit |
121/wk | Daily | American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines |
| DTW → ORD Detroit to Chicago |
122/wk | Daily | American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines |
Where a direction shows “—” we track it as an operating nonstop but hold no schedule sample for it — we would rather show nothing than guess.
In 2025, airlines reported 808,789 passengers on 11,886 flights between ORD and DTW — about 2,217 a day — filling 73% of the 1,105,320 seats flown. Delta Air Lines Inc. carried the most passengers (32%).
Source: US DOT T-100 segment reports — actual airline-reported traffic, scheduled service only, both directions combined. Cargo and charter flights excluded.
3 airlines fly the ORD–DTW nonstop, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines.
Recent scheduled departures on this route have used the Boeing 717-200, Embraer 170, Boeing 737, Bombardier CRJ900 and 4 other types.
Aircraft assignments change by season and by time of day.
The distance between Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is 234 miles, or 377 kilometres.
| Great-circle distance | 234 mi |
| Kilometres | 377 km |
| Nautical miles | 203 nmi |
Measured airport to airport. The actual track is longer — aircraft follow airways, avoid restricted airspace and route around weather.
Yes. 3 airlines fly the route nonstop, with about 243 departures a week across both directions. The route is in our live nonstop dataset, last seeded 2026-07-07.
About 1h 07m in the air. That is a great-circle estimate from the 234-mile distance, not a scheduled block time — an airline's published time will differ by roughly 15 to 45 minutes depending on routing, winds and taxi.
About 121 a week from Chicago to Detroit and 122 a week from Detroit to Chicago, from our most recent schedule sample.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines.
In 2025, airlines reported 808,789 passengers on 11,886 scheduled flights between ORD and DTW — about 2,217 a day — filling 73% of the seats flown. Source: US DOT T-100 segment reports, both directions combined.
Recent scheduled departures have used the Boeing 717-200, Embraer 170, Boeing 737, Bombardier CRJ900. Assignments change by season and by time of day.
