Detroit - one hour between connections; bad idea?
 

I'm researching flights for a potential trip to Alaska this summer. Some of the flight options involve short layovers; my top choice currently would have me flying into Detroit from JFK with a one hour (and six minutes) window before a flight to Anchorage. Would this be a risky option to take?

The flight out of JFK is around 4:00pm on a Friday---prime delay time right?

What do you think would be a safe cushion? It looks like most flights I'm looking at route through Detroit (Northwest).

Have you considered CO's one-stop EWR-SEA-ANC? It uses the same aircraft, so the 55min layover is not an issue.

I didn't notice that---thanks for the suggestion.

It's about $150 more flying CO out of Newark, which isn't a terribly convenient airport for me. But it's definitely something to consider. Thanks again.

Katie if your flight is close to on time the connection is reasonable - DTW is easy to get around. But as you note Friday afternoon/evening is prime time for delays. If you were to miss the connection, when could you get the next flight out, and what costs might you have to add? Airlines are notorious for invoking all sorts of reasons to deny that the missed connection was due to something under their control (e.g., ATC hold) meaning you would either sleep in the terminal or pay for a hotel out of pocket. (Full disclosure: as rkk knows, I am a CO loyalist)

Have flown through DTW several times, I think one hour is fine