Flight profile · Delta Air Lines
DL717
San Francisco (SFO) to Detroit (DTW) · scheduled 2:40 PM – 9:49 PM
How DL717 performs
498 operations, 2024-06-07 to 2026-06-30.
DL717 arrived on time 75.1% of the time, against 82.4% for all SFO → DTW flights — this specific departure is 7.3 percentage points worse than the route as a whole. Against Delta Air Lines’s own flights on this route it is 7.9 points worse.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · 498 operations between 2024-06-07 to 2026-06-30
Against the rest of the route
| On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe | Flights | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DL717 | 75.1% | 0.80% | -3 min | 6.5% | 498 |
| Delta Air Lines on SFO → DTW | 83.0% | 0.72% | -6 min | 4.9% | 4,052 |
| All SFO → DTW flights | 82.4% | 0.70% | -6 min | 5.2% | 5,006 |
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · 2024-06-07 to 2026-06-30
Other routes DL717 has flown
A flight number is a slot in a schedule, and carriers reassign it. These are the other city pairs this number served in the analysis period.
| Route | Operated | Flights | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHA→ATL Chattanooga to Atlanta | 2026-01-05 – 2026-02-11 | 38 | — |
| SAV→ATL Savannah to Atlanta | 2025-12-20 – 2026-01-04 | 16 | — |
| DTW→PHL Detroit to Philadelphia | 2025-01-06 – 2025-03-07 | 56 | — |
| PHL→DTW Philadelphia to Detroit | 2025-01-06 – 2025-03-07 | 56 | — |
| SAN→ATL San Diego to Atlanta | 2023-07-01 – 2024-06-06 | 252 | 94.0% |
| SFO→SLC San Francisco to Salt Lake City | 2024-04-09 – 2024-05-06 | 24 | — |
| SLC→SFO Salt Lake City to San Francisco | 2024-04-09 – 2024-05-06 | 24 | — |
| MSP→PDX Minneapolis to Portland | 2024-01-08 – 2024-03-09 | 62 | — |
| PDX→MSP Portland to Minneapolis | 2024-01-08 – 2024-03-09 | 62 | — |
Because the same number has served different journeys, the statistics above describe only the route DL717 currently operates. Blending them would produce an average of two different flights.
When it goes wrong
The average describes a usual day. This is the day that ruins a connection.
36 min late
against a median of 3 min early
Percentiles over 498 operations. Cancelled and diverted flights have no arrival time and are counted separately rather than as very late arrivals.
Why DL717 runs late
Where US DOT attributed the delay minutes on this flight.
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding, fuelling — within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for DL717 on SFO → DTW. A single late flight can carry more than one cause, and only delays of fifteen minutes or more are attributed at all.
Other departures on SFO → DTW
Same airports, same journey — and not the same odds of arriving on time.
| Flight | Airline | On time | Median arrival | Operations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DL772 | Delta Air Lines | 94.4% | 12 min early | 754 |
| DL361 | Delta Air Lines | 81.5% | 4 min early | 693 |
| DL335 | Delta Air Lines | 77.0% | 3 min early | 665 |
Every departure listed carries at least 600 operations, so the comparison is between figures that mean something. Schedules change; confirm the departure still operates before booking around this.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 498 records of DL717 operating SFO → DTW, published by the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. A flight counts as delayed when it arrives 15 or more minutes after schedule. Cancelled and diverted flights are excluded from the on-time rate and reported separately. Flight numbers are resolved as carrier plus number plus route, because the same number serves different routes over time.
Full methodology · Report a problem
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