Recently we learned that passengers perhaps ought not set their watches by Canada’s major airlines. But which carriers do boast the best on-time performance? In its annual 2023 On-Time Performance Review, respected aviation analytics firm Cirium celebrated operating excellence in the aviation sector, including airlines and airports, hailing a host of winners from every corner of the globe.
With an on-time flight defined as a flight that arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival (and for airports, flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled departure), Cirium declared the following winners, led by Platinum award honoree, Delta Air Lines, for the third year running, marking its “commitment to operational performance and minimizing passenger disruption.”
The coveted position of the most on-time Global airline went to Avianca Airlines, based in Bogota, Columbia. The winners in the other regions are ANA for Asia Pacific, Oman Air for the Middle East and Africa, Copa in Latin America, and Iberia Express in Europe. Safair was the leading low-cost carrier and Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport was the top airport performer globally.
Top five results include:
Global airline leaders
- Avianca – 85.73%
- Azul – 85.51
- Qatar – 85.11
- Delta – 84.72
- Iberia – 84.38
Airports
- Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) – 84.44%
- Rajiv Gandhi, India (HYD) – 84.42
- Kempegowda, India (BLR) – 84.08
- El Dorado, Colombia (BOG) – 84.01
- Salt Lake City (SLC) – 83.99
North America
- Delta – 84.72%
- Alaska – 82.25
- American – 80.61
- United – 80.04
- Southwest – 76.26
Notable: WestJet (7th, 69.29%); Air Canada (10th, 63.17%)
Europe
- Iberia Express – 84.58%
- Iberia – 84.38
- Austrian – 82.99
- LOT Polish – 82.83
- Norwegian Air Shuttle – 82.75
Asia-Pacific
- All Nippon – 82.75%
- Japan Airlines – 82.58
- Thai AsiaAir – 82.52
- IndiGo – 82.12
- Air New Zealand – 79.68
Latin America
- Copa – 89.46%
- Avianca – 85.73
- Azul – 85.51
- LATAM – 84.00
- Caribbean – 81.73
Middle East & Africa
- Oman Air – 92.53%
- Safair – 92.36
- Royal Jordanian – 87.51
- Qatar – 85.11
- Etihad – 82.90
Low-cost
- Safair – 92.35%
- Azul – 85.91
- Hong Kong Express – 85.23
- Jetstar Japan – 84.60
- Iberia Express – 83.58
Now in its 15th year, the Cirium On-Time Performance program monitors global airline operational performance using extensive and unbiased data derived from over 600 real-time information sources, including airlines, airports, global distribution systems, civil aviation authorities, and more, ensuring a comprehensive and neutral perspective. Data is backed by a completely independent board of advisors, comprised of industry experts with an unbiased view of the aviation sector.