Right On Time
Okay, so maybe the flights aren't leaving right on time, but when it comes to these airlines and airports, they are leaving as close to on time more often than the others.
Cirium is an aviation analytics company that does monthly stats on all airlines, and has been handing out on-time performance review awards every year for over a decade. And they recently released their 2024 Top 5 in both global and regional categories. Let's take a look.
Oh, and just to note—when indicating "on-time" arrival and departure percentages: "An on-time flight is defined as a flight that arrives within 14:59 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival time. Airports measure punctuality as departing flights within 14:59 minutes of their scheduled departure time".
How many of these on-time winners have you flown with? Were your experiences as good as the data indicates?
Global 5: Qatar Airways (QR)
Completion Factor: 99.72%
Within Block Time: 73.76%
On-Time Arrivals: 82.83%
On-Time Departures: 82.56%
Global 4: LATAM Airlines (LA)
Completion Factor: 98.52%
Within Block Time: 71.04%
On-Time Arrivals: 82.89%
On-Time Departures: 83.23%
Global 3: Delta Air Lines (DL)
Completion Factor: 98.95%
Within Block Time: 77.34%
On-Time Arrivals: 83.46%
On-Time Departures: 83.74%
Global 2: Saudia (SV)
Completion Factor: 99.82%
Within Block Time: 68.34%
On-Time Arrivals: 86.35%
On-Time Departures: 88.82%
Global 1: Aeromexico (AM)
Completion Factor: 99.32%
Within Block Time: 75.82%
On-Time Arrivals: 86.70%
On-Time Departures: 87.73%
Now let's look at Europe only...
Europe 5: Norwegian (DY)
Completion Factor: 99.18%
Within Block Time: 68.71%
On-Time Arrivals: 79.23%
On-Time Departures: 79.58%
Norwegian Air Shuttle, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Europe 4: Vueling (VY)
Completion Factor: 99.09%
Within Block Time: 76.33%
On-Time Arrivals: 81.20%
On-Time Departures: 79.43%
Pedro Aragão, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Europe 3: SAS (SK)
Completion Factor: 99.09%
Within Block Time: 62.86%
On-Time Arrivals: 81.40%
On-Time Departures: 82.72%
Dylan T, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Europe 2: Iberia (IB)
Completion Factor: 98.83%
Within Block Time: 74.16%
On-Time Arrivals: 81.58%
On-Time Departures: 79.77%
Oyoyoy, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Europe 1: Iberia Express (I2)
Completion Factor: 99.49%
Within Block Time: 72.03%
On-Time Arrivals: 84.69%
On-Time Departures: 86.72%
While the Spanish airline takes the top two spots in Europe, what about North America?
Bene Riobó, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
North America 5: Southwest Airlines (WN)
Completion Factor: 99.38%
Within Block Time: 76.55%
On-Time Arrivals: 77.77%
On-Time Departures: 76.65%
ERIC SALARD, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
North America 4: American Airlines (AA)
Completion Factor: 98.68%
Within Block Time: 72.05%
On-Time Arrivals: 77.78%
On-Time Departures: 79.13%
Quintin Soloviev, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
North America 3: Alaska Airlines (AS)
Completion Factor: 98.56%
Within Block Time: 63.15%
On-Time Arrivals: 79.25%
On-Time Departures: 81.70%
North America 2: United Airlines (UA)
Completion Factor: 98.35%
Within Block Time: 74.95%
On-Time Arrivals: 80.93%
On-Time Departures: 81.98%
N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
North America 1: Delta Air Lines (DL)
Completion Factor: 98.95%
Within Block Time: 77.34%
On-Time Arrivals: 83.46%
On-Time Departures: 83.74%
This was Delta's fourth win in a row in the North America category—earning them Cirium’s Platinum Award for global operational excellence, which "considers the complexity of the carrier’s network, volume of flights, and the ability to limit the impact of flight disruptions on passengers over the entire year".
But if you think that's impressive—check out the Latin America winner...
4300streetcar, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Latin America 5: Aerolineas Argentinas (AR)
Completion Factor: 97.54%
Within Block Time: 63.40%
On-Time Arrivals: 83.06%
On-Time Departures: 84.62%
Barcex, CC-BY-SA-2.5, Wikimedia Commons
Latin America 4: Gol (G3)
Completion Factor: 98.78%
Within Block Time: 69.88%
On-Time Arrivals: 84.09%
On-Time Departures: 83.90%
Rafael Luiz Canossa, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Latin America 3: Caribbean Airlines (BW)
Completion Factor: 99.06%
Within Block Time: 42.67%
On-Time Arrivals: 85.47%
On-Time Departures: 87.82%
DigitalCAL, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Latin America 2: Aeromexico (AM)
Completion Factor: 99.32%
Within Block Time: 75.82%
On-Time Arrivals: 86.70%
On-Time Departures: 87.73%
Masakatsu Ukon, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Latin America 1: Copa Airlines (CM)
Completion Factor: 98.73%
Within Block Time: 68.58%
On-Time Arrivals: 88.22%
On-Time Departures: 91.77%
This was Copa Airlines' "landmark" 10th win in the category.
But what about the Airports? What are the top five most on-time global airports?
Alec Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Global Airports 5: Santiago Arturo Merino Benitez Intl Airport (SCL)
On-Time Departures: 82.84%
On-Time Arrivals: 78.51%
Total Routes Served: 68
Total Airlines Served: 21
Phillip Capper, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Global Airports 4: Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
On-Time Departures: 83.80%
On-Time Arrivals: 84.78%
Total Routes Served: 104
Total Airlines Served: 14
Doc Searls, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Global Airports 3: Mexico City Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX)
On-Time Departures: 84.04%
On-Time Arrivals: 84.82%
Total Routes Served: 102
Total Airlines Served: 22
ProtoplasmaKid, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Global Airports 2: Lima Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM)
On-Time Departures: 84.57%
On-Time Arrivals: 78.64%
Total Routes Served: 71
Total Airlines Served: 27
Capomo81, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Global Airports 1: Riyadh King Khalid International Airport (RUH)
On-Time Departures: 86.65%
On-Time Arrivals: 81.79%
Total Routes Served: 115
Total Airlines Served: 60
Riyadh King Khalid International Airport also took home the win in the "Large Airport" category as well.
Other winners in other airline and airport categories include...
Kritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Other Winners
Most On-Time "Medium Airport": Tocumen International Airport Panama
Most On-Time "Small Airport": Guayaquil Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport Ecuador
Most On-Time Asia Pacific Airline: Japan Airlines (JL)
Most On-Time Middle East and Africa Airline: FlySafair (FA)
Most On-Time Low-Cost Airline: Iberia Express (I2)
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Wilfredo Rafael Rodriguez Hernandez, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
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