DTW - SFO

C$ 148 Find Cheap Flights from Detroit to San Francisco

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Detroit to San Francisco departing on 28/8. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to San Francisco

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Detroit to San Francisco, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Detroit to San Francisco, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Cheap Flights from Detroit to San Francisco (DTW-SFO)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Detroit to San Francisco that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from Detroit to San Francisco

Fri, 15 Aug - Sun, 17 Aug
Sun Country Air Logo
7:05 p.m. - 10:53 p.m.DTW-SFO
6h 48m1 stop
Sun Country Air Logo
11:59 p.m. - 10:13 a.m.SFO-DTW
7h 14m1 stop
C$ 296Sun Country Air
Find Deal
Sat, 1 Nov - Thu, 6 Nov
Sun Country Air Logo
10:20 a.m. - 5:18 p.m.DTW-SFO
9h 58m1 stop
Sun Country Air Logo
6:18 p.m. - 9:03 a.m.SFO-DTW
11h 45m1 stop
C$ 318Sun Country Air
Find Deal
Sat, 4 Oct - Sat, 11 Oct
Frontier Logo
3:42 p.m. - 9:21 p.m.DTW-SFO
8h 39m1 stop
Frontier Logo
10:29 p.m. - 3:43 p.m.SFO-DTW
14h 14m1 stop
C$ 356Frontier
Find Deal
Wed, 3 Sep - Wed, 10 Sep
Frontier Logo
8:00 a.m. - 10:33 p.m.DTW-SFO
17h 33m1 stop
Frontier Logo
7:10 a.m. - 12:46 a.m.SFO-DTW
14h 36m1 stop
C$ 371Frontier
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Tue, 23 Sep - Mon, 29 Sep
United Airlines Logo
5:32 p.m. - 7:40 p.m.DTW-SFO
5h 08mdirect
United Airlines Logo
8:55 a.m. - 4:40 p.m.SFO-DTW
4h 45mdirect
C$ 400United Airlines
Find Deal
Wed, 1 Oct - Tue, 7 Oct
Delta Logo
7:45 p.m. - 9:48 p.m.DTW-SFO
5h 03mdirect
Delta Logo
10:57 p.m. - 6:27 a.m.SFO-DTW
4h 30mdirect
C$ 410Delta
Find Deal
Sat, 4 Oct - Sat, 11 Oct
Delta Logo
9:24 p.m. - 11:29 p.m.DTW-SFO
5h 05mdirect
Delta Logo
10:57 p.m. - 6:27 a.m.SFO-DTW
4h 30mdirect
C$ 411Delta
Find Deal
Wed, 3 Sep - Wed, 10 Sep
United Airlines Logo
5:32 p.m. - 7:40 p.m.DTW-SFO
5h 08mdirect
United Airlines Logo
5:15 a.m. - 3:33 p.m.SFO-DTW
7h 18m1 stop
C$ 414United Airlines
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Tue, 21 Oct - Tue, 28 Oct
Southwest Logo
5:25 a.m. - 9:40 a.m.DTW-SFO
7h 15m1 stop
Southwest Logo
5:30 a.m. - 4:50 p.m.SFO-DTW
8h 20m2 stops
C$ 435Southwest
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Sat, 6 Sep - Tue, 9 Sep
Southwest Logo
3:55 p.m. - 9:25 p.m.DTW-SFO
8h 30m2 stops
Southwest Logo
9:55 a.m. - 9:40 p.m.SFO-DTW
8h 45m2 stops
C$ 441Southwest
Find Deal
Expert advice

Expert advice for your flight from Detroit to San Francisco

 
Snippets provided in this section are AI-generated based on a summarisation of KAYAK-commissioned articles. The articles are presented as-is, for general informational purposes only, and may not be up-to-date. The opinions contained in the articles are original to the author and reflect their authentic experience, which may vary significantly from the experience of others.
KAYAK teamed up with top travel experts to share the best tips for your journey.
Airlines
United Airlines

United's Economy Plus offers up to 15 cm more legroom than standard economy seats.


Purchase Priority Boarding to ensure overhead bin space, placing you in Zone 2.

Delta

Delta's Comfort Plus offers up to 8 cm extra legroom over Main Cabin seats.


Free Wi-Fi for SkyMiles members on domestic flights; sign up onboard if needed.

Read more about Deltaby Stefanie Waldek
Airports
DTW

For early departures, consider staying overnight at an airport hotel offering parking deals and shuttle service to DTW.

Read more about DTWby Ramsey Qubein
SFO

Use BART for a cost-effective ride from SFO to popular San Francisco neighborhoods like the Mission and Embarcadero.

Read more about SFOby Blane Bachelor
Our travel experts
Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek

Expert on United Airlines and Delta

Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek

Stefanie Waldek is a freelance space, travel, and design writer based in Saratoga Springs, NY. Her words have appeared in Space.com, Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Architectural Digest, and House Beautiful, among other publications. An expert in aviation and expedition cruising, Stefanie is frequently up in the air or on the sea, likely en route to Antarctica or the Arctic.

Read more
Ramsey Qubein

Ramsey Qubein

Expert on DTW

Ramsey Qubein

Ramsey Qubein

An avid traveler and aviation expert who has visited 173 countries, all 50 states and seven continents, Ramsey Qubein flies nearly 400,000 miles a year. As a North Carolina-based freelance journalist for publications including Conde Nast Traveler, Forbes, USA Today and Bloomberg among others, he explores the latest trends in aviation, hospitality, cruises and business.

Read more
Blane Bachelor

Blane Bachelor

Expert on SFO

Blane Bachelor

Blane Bachelor

Blane Bachelor is a journalist and editor specializing in travel and aviation who writes regularly for top global outlets. Born and raised in Florida, Blane has worked and lived in four countries, including the Netherlands, where she’s currently based with her family. Her favorite way to get to know a new destination is by running or riding a bike around town – or hearing a spooky ghost story about local history. She will always choose the window seat.

Read more
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Detroit to San Francisco flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from Detroit to San Francisco to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What’s the cheapest day of the week to fly from Detroit to San Francisco?

The average price of all round-trip flights from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Francisco clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

Your flight ticket price will generally be cheaper if you fly to San Francisco on a Sunday and more expensive on a Thursday. On your return trip to Detroit, you should consider flying back on a Thursday, and avoid Fridays for better deals.

What is the cheapest month to fly from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Francisco?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Francisco, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Francisco is June, where tickets cost C$ 565 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are January and December, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is C$ 1,024 and C$ 898 respectively.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Francisco?

The average round-trip price for all non-stop flights, flights with one layover, and flights with two layovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

No, with an average price for the route of C$ 1,273, prices are generally cheapest when you fly direct.

How far in advance should I book a flight from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Francisco?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Francisco, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Francisco, you should book around 4 weeks before departure, which saves you about 35% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 14 weeks before departure.


Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Cheapest flightC$ 148
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 38% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 24% lower on average.
Flight from Detroit to San Francisco

When to book flights from Detroit to San Francisco

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Detroit to San Francisco based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or round-trips with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking Detroit to San Francisco flights

  • What is the cheapest flight from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Francisco?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Francisco was C$ 107 for a one-way ticket and C$ 214 for a round-trip.

  • Which airlines offer Wi-Fi service onboard planes from Detroit to San Francisco?

    Delta, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and KLM offer inflight Wi-Fi service on the Detroit to San Francisco flight route.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Detroit to San Francisco?

    The Boeing 737-900 is the aircraft model that flies most regularly on the Detroit to San Francisco flight route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Detroit to San Francisco?

    SkyTeam, and Star Alliance are the airline alliances operating flights between Detroit and San Francisco, with SkyTeam being the most commonly used for this route.

  • On which days can I fly direct from Detroit to San Francisco?

    There are direct flights from Detroit to San Francisco on a daily basis.

  • Which is the best airline for flights from Detroit to San Francisco, Delta or Southwest?

    The two airlines most popular with KAYAK users for flights from Detroit to San Francisco are Delta and Southwest. With an average price for the route of C$ 592 and an overall rating of 8.0, Delta is the most popular choice. Southwest is also a great choice for the route, with an average price of C$ 757 and an overall rating of 8.0.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Detroit to San Francisco?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Detroit to San Francisco.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Detroit to San Francisco?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to San Francisco from Detroit is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Detroit to San Francisco?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to San Francisco with an airline and back to Detroit with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Detroit to San Francisco?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to San Francisco from Detroit up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

KAYAK’s top tips for finding a cheap flight from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Francisco

  • Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found flights on this route for C$ 559 or less one-way and C$ 739 or less round-trip.

Prefer to fly direct from Detroit to San Francisco?

 
Direct data is based off flight results for the next 60 days. Find direct flights from all airlines flying direct from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County to San Francisco.
Find which airlines fly direct from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to San Francisco Airport, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County to San Francisco

Monday

Air France,Air New Zealand,Asiana Airlines, +7 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +8 more

Tuesday

Air France,Air New Zealand,Asiana Airlines, +6 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +7 more

Wednesday

Air France,Air New Zealand,Asiana Airlines, +6 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +7 more

Thursday

Air France,Air New Zealand,Asiana Airlines, +7 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +8 more

Friday

Air France,Air New Zealand,Asiana Airlines, +6 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +7 more

Saturday

Air France,Air New Zealand,Asiana Airlines, +6 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +7 more

Sunday

Air France,Air New Zealand,Asiana Airlines, +6 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +7 more

See more nonstop flights

Direct returns

San Francisco to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County

Monday

Air France,Air New Zealand,China Eastern, +7 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +8 more

Tuesday

Air France,Air New Zealand,China Southern, +6 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +7 more

Wednesday

Air France,Air New Zealand,Delta, +5 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +6 more

Thursday

Air France,Air New Zealand,China Eastern, +7 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +8 more

Friday

Air France,Air New Zealand,Delta, +5 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +6 more

Saturday

Air France,Air New Zealand,China Eastern, +7 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +8 more

Sunday

Air France,Air New Zealand,Delta, +5 more

Air France,Air New Zealand, +6 more

See more nonstop flights

Reviews of the top 4 airlines flying from Detroit to San Francisco

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Detroit to San Francisco. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Detroit to San Francisco? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.0
SouthwestOverall score based on 4246 reviews
7.0Food
7.5Entertainment
8.0Comfort
8.1Boarding
8.6Crew
Airline reviews

Very smooth checking in our luggage with a super pleasant SW agent. I enjoyed a fun entertaining movie.

10.0 ExcellentGordon, Jul 2025GEG - OAK
Read more Southwest reviews

Very smooth checking in our luggage with a super pleasant SW agent. I enjoyed a fun entertaining movie.

First time traveling on Southwest since bag fees were implemented. Usual good service. Just more expensive now.

It was a perfect flight in all aspects! Both legs!

Boarding process, crew were good. But the seats were so uncomfortable that was all I could focus on. I literally had to sit forward so that all 3 of us could fit in row. I will try to avoid Southwest in the future for any flights over 60 minutes.

Great flight, 47 passengers on a 180 seat plane. Stewardess was pleasant and cheerful.

Great experience flying Southwest. The crew was really kind and helpful, and very friendly with our toddler.

Plane late from DC to Austin 30 minutes. Crew made up much of the time enroute to San Diego.

Fine, but how to board on SW versus othrr airlines, is just lame. Goood staff though and all was solid otherwise.

Was as expected. Crowed planes. Too many carryons delaying takeoff. But the ride only took an hour and saved me a lot of time SFO is a not a great airport.

I will be flying again Southwest Airlines. Friendly crew, comfortable and affordable.

Delayed and took off even later than the scheduled delay time

Food was surprisingly good but the WiFi was not great

Great. Very smooth. Plenty of information. However, wish they would give out a menu in advance of making a dinner choice like other international airlines. The flight attendant says chicken or pasta and there are details about ingredients or spices requiring the passenger to ask which requires the flight attendant to answer many times. So easy to solve this problem. P

My flight was extremely cold. I had a jacket and a cover was left in each seat. The cover was extremely thin and I have a disability, fibromyalgia and arthrithis and AC air is the worst. I closed my vent and my husbands vent and it still was frigid. I asked the attendant if I could get another cover and she quickly almost dismissively and totally unconcerned stating, (I quote) (one per chair) and walked off so quickly that I didn't get a chance to explain to her that I literally have adisability. I didnt want to make a seen so I set on that flight for over 5 hours in pain, joints locking up and extremely uncomfortable. When my fibromyalgia flares up my joints not only ache but they will lock up also and it takes me days to get back to my regular self even though I take medication for it. I felt like it would not have hurt anyone at all for her to just give me an extra cover because I'm sure they have all types of medical issues in people that fly every day.

Not a "Delta" issue, but a JFK issue: We booked a connecting flight with 3 1/2 hours between to clearn immigration and customs. Our inbound flight (BCN to JFK) was on the taxiway 45 minutes which ate into our layover time. Immigtration was insanely quick with the CBP MPC app; however, clearing TSA (again, after we were ALREADY cleared in Spain on the inbound international flight) took over 95 minutes. This left us with 10 minutes before boarding the connecting flight (JFK to SAN) to walk to the far end of Terminal 4 and try to find food. We didn't find any food that could promise to serve us in under 10 minutes so we boarded the Delta flight after coming off a plance and an 8-hour flight knowing that we wouldn't be served any food on the next 5 1/2 hour flight. I feel like Delta needs to put pressure on the JFK TSA to open more screening stations (by our count, we saw only 5 scanners open and a line of - as we said - over 90 minutes. The insult is that we WERE ALREADY SCREENED through TSA, but as you come off one flight into the USA, you have to go through the whole process again. It seems like if you have a connecting flight, there should be a way to pass through immigration and customs without needing to return through TSA.

There are 4 flights in consecutive gates with about the same departure time. Two flights were boarding at the same time. One was delayed or boarding would be happening at the same time. I am not sure what Delta and LAX need to do to have a better layout at the end of Terminal 2

5 hours of delay that could've been much shorter if Delta had taken the 1 hour delay they imposed on the flight before boarding to run any of the plane checks required for flight to find the hydraulic issue that required nearly 3 hours to fix. $24 of meal credit buys a sandwich and a soft drink. Poor communication within the terminal about what gate we'd be re-boarding from and when we'd be re-boarding.

The entertainment and wifi mostly didn't work on this flight.

Terrible entertainment system - kept freezing and audio kept cutting out. Snacks were mediocre at best for a 5 hour flight.

I am still upset that my bag was lost on a recent trip to Rome ; we were inconvenienced and out €150 Euros ; delta has refused to reimburse us

Boarded plane and then delayed 1.5 hours while on the plane

My flight was delayed a very short period of time but they did not hold my connecting flight to San Diego, also through United. So they closed the doors before we got off our plane. They would only have to help the door open for another five to ten minutes. So I missed a court deadline for a manditory mediation settlement conference for my client. I had to get an associate to be there in person and be on the phone with him relaying what he needs to do the entire time. The court was very upset with me and so was my client. United cannot be trusted.

Really good 😊 the woman at the gate entrance was a little rude checking in our carry-on but i dont think she worked for the airline, she worked for the airport at sacramento, other than that amazing.

Boarding was mayhem. Late boarding by 15 minutes because of lack of staff (missing 1 flight attendant. We had to wait for an arrival of another plane before we could board). Flight was a little rough, but cannot blame on airlines.

United out of SFO is having issues with catering so none of our meals were loaded on the plane and no offer of compensation for our tickets purchased was offered.

A bit rush for transit. Food and entertainment are not available

The gate was too far away for the connecting flight

Generally good. The aisles have gotten narrower which can slow down boarding. Flight crew was great! Healthier complimentary snacks would be appreciated. Due to earthquake in San Francisco we had to circle in air space for a bit but then had a smooth landing. I laud the flight crew for their patience ;)

The agents was very rude and they charged me $50 for a carry-on bag saying that it was too big and then I saw someone going on a plane with the same size bag as me

For the most part united was a good experience, how ever when they came by with the snacks and water, they completely passed by my wife and I. As we were in separate rows. On a 5 hr flight we were not offered water

Severe turbulence. Captain never came on to reassure passengers after things settled down.

My first flight was delayed 5 hours. The 2nd flight was canceled til the next day and the never even tried to compensate for it. Worse I was delayed again on the flight the rebooked me on.

Boarding in Orlando was not good. Giant mob at the gate, should have been lines.

Decent clean onboard experience. Okay discount airline experience. Unfortunately, any customer service interactions are difficult and unhelpful. There is no service. Also, a premium seat only gets you premium boarding if you line up first. Once they start general boarding you must go to the back of the line. Not very premium

baggage clamed had to wait over a hour and half for all people on my flight it was terrible

The ticketing agents were rude but then we had a great gate agent very nice we had to ride a buss out to where the plane was parked but it was in some back corner of the airport when we got to the plane the captain who was great btw was cleaning the plane because the same rude ticketing agent told them they we not contracted to vacuum the plane. The ride to las Vegas was fine We had a connecting flight to Dallas. The flight was fine but when we arrived in Dallas everyone who flew on any frontier airlines the picked up bags from baggage claim D15 had to wait over a hour for their bags to start we arrived at 11:30pm ish to the gate we didn't leave the baggage clamed till 12:50 am very not happy and i used to fly frontier 4 times a week for work in Denver i will not be using them again

I was 2 hr arrive in the airport and 45 min in the line . After take to my turn . The agent tell me I’m later . I can not board . So my vacation was going to the floor . Just for their bad customer service agent in the airline

Frontier Airlines was AWFUL. I was an hour early for my flight and the lady refused to check me in. I had to purchase a whole new ticket with a different airline.

My flight was canceled I was promised a reginf still not received.

Late, terrible communication, horrible planning of passenger seating until the literal last minute. One of the worst flying experiences of my life. Y'all suck

Everything you need to know for your flight from Detroit to San Francisco

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