Those who often travel the world will know that delays are an all-too-regularly seen sight in the airway industry. A delayed plane can quickly turn your travels into a nightmare, whether it is because you missed a transfer or because you loose an entire day of your vacation. Punctuality is therefore key to keep customers satisfied and some airlines excel more to that effect than others. Analytics firm Cirium studied global airline data and released a list of the most punctual airlines and airports in 2023.
Before talking about the laureates, it makes sense to discuss what Cirium interpreted as ‘on time’ and therefore punctual. According to the firm, the on-time performance rate is calculated by counting the percentage of planes that arrive at or depart from the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. Arrival times are taken into account for airlines’ on-time performance, while departure times count for airports’ on-time performance.
As far as global aviation goes, the Colombian airway company Avianca Airlines got the first place in the ranking, with an 85.73% on-time performance rate. Second in line is Brazil’s Azul Airlines (85.51%), which was the winner of the year 2022. On the third place stands Qatar Airways with an 85.11% on-time performance rate. Global airlines are defined by Cirium as those who operate daily flights in at least three different regions.
The most punctual global airports in 2023 were Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and Kempegowda International Airport.
Cirium also made rankings for airlines per continent they’re operating in. For North America, the top punctual airlines were Delta Airlines, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines. In Europe, Iberia Express, Iberia and Austrian Airlines managed to get the top three positions. In Latin America, Copa Airlines came in first, followed by Avianca Airlines and Azul Airlines. As for Asia and the Pacific, All Nippon Airways beat Japan Airlines and Thai AirAsia. Lastly, in the Middle East and Africa, Oman Air, Safair and Royal Air Jordanian came in as the most punctual airlines.
“It’s incredible to witness Delta Air Lines winning its third consecutive Platinum Award and topping the North American Category. Other airline and airport winners steered through the year’s operational hurdles with exceptional performance. Their relentless pursuit of efficiency and punctuality is commendable as we venture into 2024, a year brimming with promise for the aviation sector”, Jeremy Bowen, CEO of Cirium, commented.
Additionally, as some of the leaders in punctuality are more upscale airlines, Cirium put together a special low-cost ranking to give travellers a quick overview of budget-friendly punctual options. Safair was followed by Azul Airlines and Hong Kong Express, the top five being completed by Jetstar Japan and Iberia Express.
