Following the release of Cirium’s On-Time Performance Report for 2023, Delta Air Lines has once again been named the most punctual North American airline. The airline recorded an impressive 84.72% punctuality, the best among North American airlines, maintaining a successful performance from the previous year.
For the third year in a row, Cirium also presented the Atlanta-based carrier with the Platinum Award for Operational Excellence. This prestigious accolade is a testament to Delta’s unwavering commitment to punctuality and operational excellence. The Cirium Platinum Award, given to airlines that excel in on-time performance while navigating considerable operational complexities, reflects the hard work and dedication of Delta’s team.
The Cirium Platinum Award is not just about on-time performance; it also considers the airline’s network, volume of flights, and the ability to limit the impact of flight disruptions on passengers. Delta’s accomplishment in these areas, particularly during challenging times for the airline industry, speaks volumes about its operational efficiency and customer-focused approach.
An award presentation took place on January 24th and 25th during Delta LEAD 2024 Conference at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, to mark their outstanding achievements.
The LEAD 2024 Conference brought together 6,000 employees from Delta’s leadership team from across the company to discuss the airline’s objectives for 2024. This two-day conference set the tone for the year, discussing the airline’s finance, operations, people, customer experience (CX), and listening to external perspectives.
Jeremy Bowen, Cirium CEO, presented Delta’s awards to Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines along with six frontline team members representing all who make on-time performance a reality for Delta. Mike Malik, Cirium Chief Marketing Officer, Lydia Webb, Cirium Marketing Director, and Kirk Nagy, Cirium Enterprise Business Development Manager, were also in attendance.
“At Cirium we have a team that is passionate about airline operations. Many have decades of airline experience; we understand the complexity and challenge of getting people to their destinations safely and on time. Delta’s accomplishment, particularly during challenging times for the airline industry, speaks volumes about its operational efficiency and customer-focused approach.”
Jeremy Bowen, CEO of Cirium
Congratulations to the entire Delta team for their hard work and dedication, which have contributed to this amazing success. Delta’s achievement sets a high standard for operational performance in the airline industry, and it is an inspiration for others. – Jeremy Bowen.
Report highlights
Delta Air Lines Secures Cirium’s Platinum Award for Operational Excellence for Fourth Year Running
Aeromexico Recognized as the Most On-Time Airline in the Global Category
Regional Leaders Announced: Delta Air Lines, Copa Airlines, Iberia Express, Japan Airlines, and FlySafair Take Top Honors
Bogotá El Dorado International Airport Earns Cirium’s Inaugural Airport Platinum Award
Riyadh King Khalid International Airport Named Most On-Time Global Airport for 2024
About Cirium Cirium® is the world’s most trusted source of aviation analytics. The company delivers powerful data and cutting-edge analytics to empower a wide spectrum of industry players. It equips airlines, airports, travel enterprises, aircraft manufacturers, and financial entities with the clarity and intelligence they need to optimize their operations, make informed decisions, and accelerate revenue growth.
Cirium® is part of LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, a RELX business, which provides information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The shares of RELX PLC are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX.
The airline industry has emerged from the shadows of the pandemic, showing signs of robust recovery and resilience. As we review the year 2023 and look forward to 2024, it’s clear that the sector is not just surviving but thriving in many aspects.
The 2023 On-Time Performance Review showcases the airline industry’s performance rebound. It’s a pleasure for Cirium to acknowledge the industry leaders of this resurgence.
A special congratulations to Delta Air Lines for winning the prestigious 2023 Platinum Award for the third year in a row, achieving an impressive 84.72% on-time rate.
Cirium’s on-time performance analysis, a staple in the industry for over 15 years, has been pivotal in evaluating the punctuality of airlines and airports. In 2023, the industry saw significant growth, with over 32+ million scheduled passenger flights. This increase, coupled with an upsurge in seat capacity, underscores the sector’s expansion. As we look towards 2024, Cirium remains committed to delivering comprehensive and unbiased on- time performance (OTP) data. This information, derived from an extensive array of sources including airlines, airports, and civil aviation authorities, offers a neutral, third-party perspective. Our independent board of advisors, experts in the field, guarantees the accuracy and fairness of our reports, ensuring they reflect a true picture of the industry’s performance.
In reviewing 2023, global passenger numbers made a significant comeback, narrowly surpassing pre-pandemic levels by the peak summer months. This recovery, while uneven across different regions, marked a pivotal moment for an industry that had faced unprecedented challenges. The US and Western European markets led the way, with passenger revenues in the US domestic market reaching 20% above 2019 levels by the third quarter.
This surge in demand, however, came with its own set of challenges, including increased competition and rising operational costs.
Business travel, a key segment for the industry, continued to lag behind due to ongoing cost management and a growing focus on sustainability within corporate policies. This was reflected in the major Global Distribution Systems (GDS), where agency bookings remained below pre-pandemic levels throughout 2023.
Looking ahead to 2024, the outlook remains cautiously optimistic. The recovery is expected to continue, albeit at a slightly moderated pace. While passenger numbers might end slightly lower than pre-pandemic levels, revenue growth is projected to be robust, potentially surpassing 2019 figures. However, this optimism is tempered by the need for the industry to balance supply and demand effectively, especially considering the rising input costs.
The Asia-Pacific region, particularly China, has shown a delayed but steady recovery trajectory, contributing to the global upswing in demand. This regional growth is expected to play a significant role in driving the global industry forward in 2024.
However, the industry faces new challenges and uncertainties. The lessons learned from the pandemic, combined with ongoing geopolitical tensions and environmental pressures, are shaping a new era of strategic thinking and operational efficiency in the airline industry.
How airlines navigate these factors will be crucial in determining their success in the coming year.
In conclusion, the airline industry is on a path to recovery, marked by significant strides in 2023 and a positive but cautious outlook for 2024.
The Cirium team looks forward to providing more critical aviation data in 2024. The journey ahead is laden with opportunities and challenges, as the sector adapts to a rapidly changing global landscape.
Report highlights
Delta Air Lines Secures Cirium’s Platinum Award for Operational Excellence for Fourth Year Running
Aeromexico Recognized as the Most On-Time Airline in the Global Category
Regional Leaders Announced: Delta Air Lines, Copa Airlines, Iberia Express, Japan Airlines, and FlySafair Take Top Honors
Bogotá El Dorado International Airport Earns Cirium’s Inaugural Airport Platinum Award
Riyadh King Khalid International Airport Named Most On-Time Global Airport for 2024
There was also a top place finish in the medium airports category for another APAC airport, with Osaka International Airport who managed an impressive 90.71% of flights on time. There was a second-place finish in the small airports category for Chubu Centrair International Airport (NGO) with 90.17% of flights on time, just 0.12% behind the top spot.
It should also be noted that Indigo Airlines was achieved an impressive fourth place in punctuality for the Asia Pacific Airline category with 82.12% of its flights arriving on-time. While operating nearly 680,000 flights in 2023.
An on-time flight is defined as a flight that arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival. For an airport, it is defined as departing within 15 minutes of its scheduled departure.
Indian airports performed particularly well, with podium finishes in the global and large airport categories, and there was further representation for the APAC region in the other two airport categories as well.
Jeremy Bowen, CEO of Cirium, said: “Cirium’s annual On-Time Performance Review is a global assessment of the punctuality of all types of carriers and airports, as evidenced by the widespread representation of operations from each corner of the globe, in this year’s review. Indian airports performed particularly well, with podium finishes in the global and large airport categories, and there was further representation for the APAC region in the other two airport categories as well. I’d like to extend my congratulations to all the featured airlines and airports in this year’s review.”
Now in its 15th year, the Cirium On-Time Performance program continues to meticulously monitor global airline operational performance. Our extensive and unbiased data, derived from over 600 real-time information sources, is essential for industry stakeholders. Our data encompasses airlines, airports, global distribution systems, civil aviation authorities, and more, ensuring a comprehensive and neutral perspective.
Cirium is continuing to lead the way, worldwide, in monitoring aviation on-time performance in the New Year, as the industry adjusts to post-pandemic norms.
The company’s data and analytics are designed to provide industry stakeholders with a neutral, third-party perspective, based on the widest and deepest pool of information collected and curated from more than 600 sources of real-time flight information.
These include the airlines themselves, airports, global distribution systems, positional data, civil aviation authorities, air navigation service providers, proprietary data partnerships and the internet. Cirium’s on-time performance data is backed by a completely independent board of advisors, comprised of industry experts with an unbiased view of the aviation sector. The board’s oversight ensures accuracy and proper representation of all the information the company presents.
Top Performing Global Airports of 2023
Airport
On time ranking
On time departure
Totalflights
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
1
84.44%
289,817
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD)
2
84.42%
168,426
Kempegowda International Airport (BLR)
3
84.08%
237,461
El Dorado International Airport (BOG)
4
84.01%
292,486
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
5
83.99%
226,705
Top Asia Pacific Airlines of 2023
Airline
On time ranking
On time arrival
Totalflights
All Nippon Airways (NH)
1
82.75%
302,279
Japan Airlines (JL)
2
82.58%
308,302
Thai AirAsia (FD)
3
82.52%
113,871
IndiGo (6E)
4
82.12%
678,446
Air New Zealand (NZ)
5
79.68%
175,876
DOWNLOAD THE FULL 2023 ON-TIME PERFORMANCE REVIEW.
About Cirium Cirium® is the world’s most trusted source of aviation analytics. The company delivers powerful data and cutting-edge analytics to empower a wide spectrum of industry players. It equips airlines, airports, travel enterprises, aircraft manufacturers, and financial entities with the clarity and intelligence they need to optimize their operations, make informed decisions, and accelerate revenue growth.
Cirium® is part of LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, a RELX business, which provides information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The shares of RELX PLC are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX.
Learn more about Cirium On-Time Performance and download The 2023 Cirium On-Time Performance Review. Learn more about about how to improve Cirium data. Subscribe to never miss a new Cirium report.
GLOBAL SUMMARY – December 2023
While the majority of airlines saw a decrease in On-Time performance during the Christmas season, North American carriers maintained their supremacy in the global rankings in December. Despite a two-point decrease from the previous month, Delta Air Lines (DL) remained as the top airline in the Global category with an impressive OTP of 89.57%. Qatar Airways (QR) rose to second place with an OTP of 87.74%, which is a slight improvement from the previous month’s 86.06% OTP. United Airlines (UA) came in third place with an OTP of 85.80%, a near 3-point decline compared to last month’s performance. American Airlines (AA) slid to fourth place with an OTP of 84.31%, a 2-point decrease from last month’s performance. American Airlines was followed closely by Iberia (IB) with On-Time Performance of 84.30%. The Madrid-based airline, saw a near 2-point improvement over the previous month’s performance.
In APAC,Thai AirAsia (FD) took the top place in the Asia-Pacific leaderboard with an OTP of 84.09%, an impressive 4-point improvement over last month’s performance. Philippine Airlines (PR) secured the second spot, which had previously been held by Vietnam Airlines, with an OTP of 83.08%, a 1-point decrease over previous month’s performance. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines (SQ) maintained its position in third place with an OTP of 83.01%. ANA (NH) climbed to fourth place in December with an OTP of 82.59% which was a slight improvement over last month’s OTP of 81.14%. AirAsia (AK), the regional leader last month, regressed to fifth place in December with an OTP of 81.93%. This was approximately a 5-point decline in performance compared to the previous month.
In North America, Despite the hectic holiday travel season and operations, Delta Air Lines (DL) as mentioned above concluded December strongly with an impressive OTP of 89.57%. United Airlines (UA) safely secured the second place with and OTP of 85.80%, albeit a near 3-point decline over last month’s performance. American Airlines (AA) remained in third place with an OTP of 84.31%, this was a 2-point decrease compared to the previous month’s performance. Despite the drops in United Airlines and American Airlines, these are still impressive numbers by the big three. Alaska Airlines (AS) finished in fourth position with an OTP of 83.12%, while Southwest Airlines (WN) ended in fifth place with an OTP of 80.76%, a nearly 4-point decrease over last month’s performance.
In Europe,Vueling (VY) replaced Austrian (OS) as the new leader in Europe this month with an OTP of 86.04%, a minor decrease from previous month’s OTP of 86.31%. Iberia Express (I2) came in second place with an On-Time Performance of 85.73%, this was a 2-point improvement over last month’s result. Aegean Airlines (A3), a new name among the top Europe region ranking, safely secured the third spot with an OTP of 85.14%. Iberia (IB) ascended from its seventh-place last month to fourth place this month with an OTP of 84.30%, a nearly 2-point increase as compared to last month’s OTP. With a 5-point decrease from last month’s performance, Transavia France (TO), which fell to fifth place from its fourth spot with an OTP of 79.07%.
In Latin America,Copa Airlines (CM) reclaimed the top spot in the Latin America region from Azul (AD) with an OTP of 86.46%, this was a massive 4-point improvement over last month’s performance. Azul (AD) slid to second place with an OTP of 82.35%, a 2-point decrease from last month’s performance. Avianca (AV) followed Azul in third place with an OTP of 82.19%, an impressive 5-point improvement over last month’s performance. LATAM Airlines (LA) and Gol (G3) concluded the month in fourth and fifth places with OTP of 81.04% and 77.75% respectively.
In the Middle East and Africa and LCCs,Safair (FA) concluded December with an excellent OTP of 93.38%, leading both the Middle East & Africa region and the Low-Cost Carrier categories. Oman Air (WY) remained in second place this month with an OTP result of 89.15%, a 3-point decline from last month’s performance. Qatar Airways (QR) came in third place again with an OTP of 87.74%. Gulf Air (GF) secured the fourth spot with an OTP of 83.97%, this was nearly a 2-point improvement compared to last month’s OTP. Gulf Air (GF) was closely followed by Royal Jordanian (RJ) with an OTP of 83.93% for the month of December.
GLOBAL SUMMARY – November 2023
After a record-breaking Thanksgiving holiday traffic and impressive airline operations, it was no surprise that North American airlines led the global category in November. Three of the region’s biggest carriers improved their performances from the previous month and appeared in the top 5 ranking. Delta Air Lines (DL) maintained its dominance in the region with an impressive OTP of 91.29%. United Airlines (UA) followed in second place with an OTP of 88.44%. With an OTP of 86.65%, American Airlines (AA) finally joined the global leaderboard this month in third place. Qatar Airways (QR) and Azul (AD) joined their North American counterparts at #4 and #5 respectively in the Global category.
In APAC, after its fifth place ranking last month, AirAsia (AK) made a near 5-point improvement in its performance this month and soared to the top of the Asia-Pacific region leaderboard. Vietnam Airlines (VN) came in second with an OTP of 86.28%, a 3-point improvement over last month’s performance. Philippine Airlines (PR) came in third with an OTP score of 84.27%. Peach Aviation (MM) and ANA (NH) came in at #4 and #5, with an OTP of 81.25% and 81.14% respectively.
In North America, With a remarkable OTP of 91.29% and during one of the busiest travel holidays, Delta Air Lines (DL) maintained its position as the leader in the North America region in November. United Airlines (UA) secured the second spot with an OTP of 88.44%, which is a two-point improvement over the previous month’s performance. Followed closely behind in third place was American Airlines (AA), with an OTP of 86.65%. With a 6-point improvement over last month’s performance, Southwest Airlines (WN) came in at #4 this month with an OTP of 84.52% followed by Alaska Airlines (AS) with an OTP score of 84.50%.
In Europe,Austrian (OS) is the new leader in the Europe Region this month with an OTP of 87.38%. With more than 5-points improvement over last month’s performance, Vueling (VY) finally made the top 5 ranking in second place with an OTP of 86.31%. With no change in On-Time Performance this month, Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) slipped to third place with an OTP of 86.11%. On the other hand, Transavia France (TO) and Eurowings (EW) both made near 6-point improvements in performances in November and came in #4 and #5 with OTP of 84.49% and 84.22% respectively.
In Latin America,Azul (AD) is the new leader in the Latin America region this month, with an OTP of 84.49%. Despite a 2-point decline from last month’s performance, Caribbean Airlines (BW) maintained its second-place position in the region in November with an OTP of 83.96%. Copa Airlines (CM) followed Caribbean Airlines in third place with an OTP of 82.30%; a slight decline from its performance in October. Aeromexico (AM) and Sky Airlines (H2) both made improvements this month in their performances over the previous month and came in at #4 and #5, with an OTP of 81.79% and 79.13% respectively.
In the Middle East and Africa,Oman Air’s (WY) dominance was maintained this month with an OTP of 93%. Safair (FA) also sustained its position at number two with an OTP of 90.81%. Qatar Airways (QR) moved to the third spot in the region this month with an OTP of 87.56%, while Royal Jordanian (RJ) slid to fourth place with an OTP of 84.59%.
Among the LCCs,Safair (FA) is the leader in both the MEA region and the LCC category with a notable OTP of 93.99%; a 3-point improvement over last month’s performance. Safair’s improvement in performance was an exception among its peers this month. The remaining carriers in the top 5 ranking all experienced a decline in performance compared to October. Oman Air (WY) fell to second place this month with an OTP score of 92.68%, while Qatar Airways (QR) remained in third place with an OTP of 86.06%. Saudia (SV) and Gulf Air (GF) came in at #4 and #5, with OTP of 83.45% and 82.09% respectively.
GLOBAL SUMMARY – OCTOBER 2023
Delta Air Lines (DL) took the top spot from SA Avianca (AV) this month with an outstanding OTP of 90.84%. SA Avianca (AV) followed with an OTP of 88.78%, just a slight decline from its performance last month. Qatar Airways (QR) came in third place this month with an OTP of 87.56%. United Airlines (UA), a new name in the top five ranking, secured the fourth place this month with an OTP of 86.31%. United Airlines was followed closely by Aeromexico (AM), with an OTP of 86.08%.
In APAC,ANA (NH) is the new leader in the region with an OTP of 85.08%, a two-point improvement over the previous month’s performance. JAL (JL) retained its position in second place at the same OTP rate as the previous month (83.88%). With an OTP of 83.14%, Vietnam Airlines (VN) took the third spot in the APAC region.
In North America, with an impressive OTP of 90.84%, Delta Air Lines (DL) maintained its position as the top airline this month. This score was a 4-point improvement over the previous month’s performance. United Airlines (UA) secured the second place this month with an OTP of 86.31%. Alaska Airlines (AS) followed closely in third place with an equally impressive OTP score of 86.07%.
In Europe,Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) is the leader in the region this month with an OTP of 86.10%. Iberia Express (I2) climbed to second place with an OTP score of 85.69%, while Austrian (OS) slid to the third spot with an OTP of 85.57% this month.
In Latin America, SA Avianca (AV) maintained its dominance this month with an OTP score of 88.78%. Caribbean Airlines (BW) followed closely behind at number two with an OTP of 86.47%, almost a 3-point improvement over their September OTP performance. Aeromexico (AM) ranked third in the region this month with an OTP of 86.08%.
In the Middle East and Africa,Oman Air’s (WY) dominance was maintained this month with an OTP of 93%. Safair (FA) also sustained its position at number two with an OTP of 90.81%. Qatar Airways (QR) moved to the third spot in the region this month with an OTP of 87.56%, while Royal Jordanian (RJ) slid to fourth place with an OTP of 84.59%.
Among the LCCs, With an OTP of 90.81%, Safair (FA) is once again the leader in the Low-Cost Carrier category this month. Jetstar Japan (GK) climbed to the second spot with an incredible OTP of 86.94%, while Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) dropped to third place with an OTP of 86.10%.
Avianca (AV) continued its dominance in the global ranking this month with an OTP of 89.88%, almost a 3-point improvement from the previous month. Qatar Airways (QR) also maintained its position in the second spot with an OTP of 87.84%, also an improvement from their performance last month. Delta Air Lines (DL) came in third place in the global ranking with an OTP of 86.40% and showed an improvement of almost 4 points over last month. Delta was followed by Azul (AD) with an OTP of 85.71%.
In APAC,Thai AirAsia (FD) earned the top spot in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, with an OTP result of 87.52%, an improvement of nearly 7 points over its performance last month. Japan Airlines (JL) showed a remarkable 13-point improvement over last month’s performance and ascended to the second place with an OTP of 83.88%. Followed closely behind was Philippine Airlines (PR) with an OTP score of 83.38%. ANA (NH) and Singapore Airlines (SQ) joined the rankings at number 4 and 5, and achieved an OTP of 83.02% and 81.34% respectively.
In North America,Delta Air Lines (DL) led North American airlines with an OTP of 86.40%. This was nearly a 4-point improvement for the airline over its performance last month. Delta was followed by Alaska Airlines (AS) with an OTP of 83.81%. United Airlines (UA) switched ranks with Alaska Airlines this month in third place, with an OTP score of 82.54%.
In Europe,Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) led the region this month with an OTP of 87.98%. Austrian (OS) followed Norwegian Air Shuttle in the second spot with an OTP score of 85.47%. Iberia Express (I2) safely secured the third spot with an OTP of 82.95%.
In Latin America,Avianca (AV) continued its dominance in the Latin America region with an OTP of 89.88%, a 3-point improvement from its performance last month. Copa Airlines (CM) followed Avianca in the second spot, also with an OTP of 89.88%. Azul (AD) came in third place with an OTP of 85.71%.
In the Middle East and Africa,Oman Air (WY) reclaimed the top spot this month with a remarkable OTP of 94.02%. Safair (FA) slid to second place with an OTP score of 92.29%, while Royal Jordanian (RJ) came in third place with an OTP score of 90.99%.
Among the LCCs,Safair (FA) maintained the top spot in the category with an OTP of 92.29%. Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) joined the rankings this month at number 2 with an OTP of 87.98%, followed by Thai Air Asia (FD) with an OTP of 87.52%.
Avianca (AV) returned to the top spot in the Global category this month after briefly losing it to LATAM last month, with an OTP of 86.86%. Qatar Airways (QR) moved up and followed Avianca (AV) closely in the second spot with an OTP of 85.77%. Iberia (IB) ranked third among the top performing global airlines, with an OTP of 85.76%. Azul (AD) returned as a top performer in the global category this month with an OTP of 85.37%.
In APAC,AirAsia India (I5) rose to the top rank among APAC carriers with an OTP of 86.33%. Indigo (6E) maintained its second-place spot with an OTP of 84.98%. Air New Zealand (NZ) claimed the third spot with 82.81% of its flights arriving on schedule. Garuda (GA) returned as a top performer this month in the fourth spot, with an OTP of 82.60%.
In North America,Delta Air Lines (DL) returned as the leader this month in the North American category with an OTP of 82.80%. The top spot was briefly taken by Alaska (AS) the last two months. United Air Lines (UA) followed with an OTP of 81.61% at the second spot. Alaska Airlines (AS) took the third place with an OTP of 81.52%.
In Europe,Iberia (IB) continues to lead the region with an OTP of 85.76%. Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) climbed to second place with 84.61% of its flights arriving on time. Austrian (OS) finished third with an OTP of 81.09%. Air Europa (UX) makes its debut this year among the top performers with an OTP of 80.42%.
In Latin America,Copa Airlines (CM) continues its dominance at the top spot in the Latin America category with an impressive OTP of 89.78%. Avianca (AV) and Azul (AD) came in second and third, with 86.86% and 85.37% OTP, respectively.
In the Middle East and Africa,Safair (FA) leads the region again this month with an OTP of 93.13%. Oman Air (WY), the five-month reigning leader slid to second place with an OTP of 90.39%, followed by Etihad Airways (EY) in third place with an OTP of 87.23%.
Among the LCCs,Safair (FA) is also the new leader in the LCC category with an OTP of 93.13%. Iberia Express (I2) and Spring Airlines Japan (IJ) claimed to the 2nd and 3rd spots with OTP of 88.70% and 86.76% respectively.
LATAM Airlines (LA) switched positions with Avianca (AV) this month with an OTP of 85.30% and 84.67% respectively. Saudia (SV) took the third position among the top performing global airlines with an OTP of 83.76%.
In APAC,JAL (JL) jumped to the top spot amongst APAC airlines with an OTP of 83.39%. Indigo (6E) followed with 82.04% and ANA (NH) with 81.80% of their flights arriving on-time.
In North America,Alaska Airlines (AS) for the second month in a row led North American carriers with an OTP of 82.03% over Delta Air Lines (DL) with an OTP of 78.55%. American Airlines (AA) took the third position with an OTP of 73.01%.
In Europe,Iberia (IB) led with an OTP of 80.75%. Finnair (AY) followed closely behind with 79.82% of their flights arriving on-time. Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) was in the 3rd position with an OTP of 76.97%.
In Latin America,Copa Airlines (CM), a consistent top performer, leads the region with an OTP of 89.74%. Azul (AD) and LATAM Airlines (LA) followed respectively with 86.48% and 85.30% OTP percentages.
In the Middle East and Africa, the top airlines matched June rankings with Oman Air (WY) continuing to lead the region with an OTP of 90.73% followed by Royal Jordanian (RJ) with an OTP of 88.58% then Safair (FA) with an OTP of 88.32%.
Among the LCCs,Solaseed Air (6J) leads the category with an OTP of 89.87%. Safair (FA) was close behind with an OTP of 88.32% followed by Iberia Express (I2) with an OTP of 87.14%.
Avianca (AV) maintained the top spot amongst global airlines with an OTP of 86.61%. Following closely behind was LATAM Airlines (LA) with an 86.54% and Qatar Airways (QR) with 85% OTP.
In APAC,ANA (NH) continues to lead the region with 84.29% OTP. Air New Zealand (NZ) jumps to the 2nd position with 83.99% and IndiGo (6E) in 3rd with an 83.78%.
In North America,Alaska Airlines (AS) unseats Delta Air Lines for the top North American airline in June with an OTP of 80.33%. Delta Air Lines (DL) followed closely behind with an 79.73% OTP and American Airlines (AA) with 74.13% OTP.
In Europe,LOT Polish Airlines (LO) returns to the lead position in Europe with 82.72% of their flights arriving on-time, followed by Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) with 82.02% OTP and Iberia (IB) with 80.89% OTP.
In Latin America,Copa Airlines (CM) continues to dominate the region with an OTP of 89.46%. Avianca (AV) and LATAM Airlines (LA) follow closely behind with OTP of 86.61% and 86.54% respectively.
In the Middle East and Africa,Oman Air (WY) leads the region gain this month with an OTP of 93.57%. Royal Jordanian (RJ) jumps to the 2nd position with an OTP of 88.17% followed by Safair (FA) with an OTP of 87.66%.
Among the LCCs,StarFlyer (7G) jumps to the lead position in the category with an OTP of 90.82%. Solaseed Air (6J) and Hong Kong Express (UO) maintain the 2nd and 3rd positions with OTP of 89.68% and 87.74% respectively.
Avianca (AV) improved their on-time performance (OTP) by almost 3 points in May, making them the top airline globally with an OTP of 89.51%. Delta Air Lines (DL) closely followed with an OTP of 88.86%, showing a significant improvement of 5 points compared to the previous month. LATAM Airlines (LA) came in third place with an OTP of 88.23%.
In APAC,ANA (NH) led the region with an OTP of 86.04%. JAL (JL) was a close second with an OTP of 85.86% and Indigo (6E) in third with an OTP of 85.01%.
In North America,Delta Air Lines (DL) was the North American leader once again with an OTP of 88.86%. Alaska Airlines (AS) followed with an OTP of 84.69% and American Airlines (AA) with an OTP of 83.91%.
In Europe,Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) took the lead in May with an on-time performance (OTP) of 89.25%, surpassing the previous leader LOT Polish Airlines (LO) with an OTP of 88.68%. Iberia (IB) secured the third position with an OTP of 86.63%.
In Latin America,Copa Airlines (CM) continues to lead the region with an OTP of 93.44%. Avianca (AV) and Azul (AD) follow closely behind with OTP of 89.51% and 89.03% respectively.
In the Middle East and Africa,Oman Air (WY) lead the region this month with an OTP of 95.08% followed by Safair (FA) with an OTP of 93.56% and Gulf Air (GF) with an OTP of 89.37%.
Among the LCCs,Safair (FA) continues to lead the category with an OTP of 93.56%, an improvement of just over 3 points from the previous month. Solaseed (6J) and Hong Kong Express (UO) follow with an OTP of 93.09% and 92.78% respectively.
Air New Zealand (NZ) Emerges as the Leader in the APAC Region, and LOT Polish Airlines (LO) Secures the Top Spot Among European Airlines
Iberia (IB) is the global leader in the Global Airlines category with an OTP of 87.28%, a 6pt improvement from March. Avianca (AV) follows closely behind with an OTP of 86.83% and LATAM (LA) with an OTP of 85.80%.
In APAC,Air New Zealand (NZ) is the new leader in APAC region with an OTP of 84.55%, an improvement of 6pts from March. IndiGo (6E) follows tightly behind with an OTP of 84.49%, a decline of just over 4pts from the previous month. JAL (JL) takes the the 3rd position with an OTP of 83.95%.
In North America,Delta Air Lines (DL) continues to lead all carriers in the region with an OTP of 83.29%. Delta is followed by Alaska (AS) with an OTP of 82.02% and American Airlines (AA) with an OTP of 78.95%.
In Europe,LOT Polish Airlines (LO) jumps to the top spot amongst European airlines with a strong OTP result of 89.25%. LOT Polish Airlines is followed closely by Iberia (IB) with an OTP of 87.28% and Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) with an OTP of 87.15%.
In Latin America,Copa Airlines (CM) continues to lead the region with an OTP of 93.26%. Avianca (AV) and Azul (AD) follow closely behind with OTP of 86.83% and 86.38% respectively.
In the Middle East and Africa,Oman Air (WY) maintains the top position with an OTP of 92.58%, just edging Safair (FA) with an OTP of 92.20%. Royal Jordanian (RJ) follows with OTP of 87.74%.
Among the LCCs,Safair (FA) continues to lead the category with an OTP of 92.20%. Solaseed (6J) and Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) follow with an OTP of 89.69% and 87.15% respectively.
New Leaders Azul and IndiGo Emerge in Global and APAC
Azul (AD) is the new leader in the Global Airlines category. Azul takes the leadership position from KLM (KL) this month with an OTP of 89.87%. This is also more than a 4pt improvement from their performance last month (84.37%). ANA (NH) follows Azul with an OTP of 87.24%, also showing a 5pt improvement from last month (82.30%).
In APAC,IndiGo (6E) is the new leader in the APAC region. IndiGo takes the lead position with an OTP of 89.02% from Thai AirAsia (FD) who had led the pack for two consecutive months. Vietnam Airlines (VN) makes a remarkable improvement to their OTP performance this month (85.00%) over last month (78.42%) to make their debut in the top 5 ranking at #4.
In North America, with an OTP of 80.93%, Delta Air Lines (DL) continues to lead the North America region. This is a slight decline from its performance last month (84.82%). Alaska (AS) follows Delta closely at #2, with an OTP of 79.57%. The North American airlines experienced a decline in performance because of the Spring break holiday traffic and with the series of bad weather systems. This is evident in the OTP performance of the top 5 performers this month.
In Europe,Austrian Airlines (OS) is once again the leader in the Europe region with an OTP of 88.66%. This is a decline from their last month’s performance (91.09%). LOT Polish (LO) follows Austrian closely with an OTP of 88.32%; an improvement from their previous month’s performance (85.62%).
In Latin America, for three consecutive months, Copa Airlines (CM) is the leader in the Latin America region. With an OTP of 92.14%, the Panama-based airline maintains its lead in the region. Azul (AD) follows Copa at #2 with an OTP of 89.87%. This is more than a 5pt improvement in their last month performance (84.37%).
In the Middle East and Africa,Oman Air (WY) takes the lead back from Safair (FA) this month with an OTP of 94.98%. Safair however follows Oman Air closely at #2 with an OTP of 93.68%; a slight decline from their performance last month (94.89%).
Among the LCCs,Safair (FA) maintains its lead in the Low-Cost category this month with an OTP of 93.68%; a slight decline from their performance last month (94.89%). StarFlyer (7G) follows Safair at #2 with an OTP of 92.28%; although a small reduction from their performance last month (92.85%).
KLM is the New Leader in the Global Airlines Category
With an OTP of 89.66%, KLM (KL) airline takes the top spot from Iberia. The airline makes a 3pt improvement from their last month’s performance (86.20%). Iberia (IB) follows closely with an OTP of 89.57%; also showing a 3pt improvement from last month (86.60%).
In APAC, Thai AirAsia (FD) is once again the leader in the APAC region with an OTP of 89.03%; a slight decline from their January performance (90.68%). IndiGO (6E) and China Southern (CZ) make their debut in the top five at #2 (87.78%) and #5 (82.99%) respectively.
In North America,Delta Air Lines (DL) maintains its lead in the North America region with an OTP of 84.82%; nearly 5pts higher than last month’s performance (79.88%). This is not an isolated incident in the region. All the top five performers showed improvement from last month and December. Southwest Airlines (WN) follows Delta at #2 with an OTP of 82.43%; a remarkable improvement from December’s performance (69.40%).
In Europe,Austrian Airlines (OS) is the new leader in the Europe region. With an impressive OTP of 91.09%, the airline takes the lead from Air Europa (UX). Like its North American counterparts, all the European top performers showed significant improvement from last month and December.
In Latin America,Copa Airlines (CM) maintains its lead in the Latin America region this month with an impressive OTP of 94.39%. Sky Airlines (H2) once again follows Copa at number 2; with an OTP of 89.02%. VivaAir (VH) makes its debut in the top five ranking this month at #4 with an OTP of 86.16%.
In the Middle East and Africa,Safair (FA) is the new leader in the Middle East & Africa region. The South African-based airlines takes the lead from Oman Air (WY) with an OTP of 94.89%. But Oman Air follows closely at #2 with an OTP of 92.88%. Ethiopian Airlines (ET) makes its debut in the top 5 ranking this month in the region at #5 with an OTP of 86.03; almost a 10pt improvement from its performance last month (75.48%).
Among the LCCs, with an OTP of 94.89, Safair (FA) also takes the lead from Solaseed this month in the Low-Cost Carriers category.
Iberia Continues to Be in Top the Leadership Spots
Iberia (IB) starts the year off with a strong performance and takes the lead with an OTP of 86.80%, almost a four-point improvement from December (82.91%). After missing in the top 10 last month, Latam Airlines (LA) appears in this month’s top 5 ranking at number 4 with an OTP of 86.19%. Aeromexico (AM) finishes at number 5 with an OTP of 85.30%; a vast improvement from last month (77.24%).
In APAC, Thai AirAsia (FD) is the leader in the APAC region this month with an OTP of 90.68%. Air China (CA) follows in second place with an OTP of 87.60%. Lucky Air (8L) and Shenzhen Airlines (ZH) make their debut in the top five and follow each other very closely at number 4 and 5 respectively; and OTP of 85.58% and 85.24%. This month no Indian airlines feature in the top ten, seasonal weather conditions playing their part in disrupting schedules.
In North America,Delta Air Lines (DL) continues to lead in North America with an OTP of 79.88%. American Airlines (AA) follows very closely at number two with an OTP of 79.76%. This is an improvement from December’s performance (76.04%) for the Texas-based airline.
In Europe, Air Europa (UX) is the new leader in the Europe region, with an OTP of 88.68%. This is a huge improvement for Air Europa who finished fourth last month with an OTP of 79.46%. Vueling (VY) returns to the top 5 ranking at number 2 with an OTP of 88.67%: nearly missing the top spot after missing for almost nine months.
In Latin America,Copa Airlines (CM) is the new leader in the Latin America region. The Panama City-based airline returns to the top spot with an impressive OTP of 90.79%. Copa is followed by Sky Airlines (H2) at number 2; with an OTP of 87.73%; an improvement in performance from last month (84.19%).
In the Middle East and Africa,Oman Air (WY) continues to lead in the MEA region; with an impressive OTP of 92.14%. Royal Jordanian (RJ) follows at number two with an OTP of 89.90%.
Among the LCCs,Solaseed Air (6J) takes the lead from Sky Airline as the leader in this category with an OTP of 92.23%; an improvement from last month (88.36%). StarFlyer (7F) and Thai AirAsia (FD) follow closely at #2 (90.71%) and #3 (90.68%) respectively.
You can find out more on Cirium’s On-Time Performance portfolio and download reports here.
Luis Felipe de Oliveria, Director General, ACI World
According to ACI World, 2024 is expected to be a milestone for global passenger traffic as it reaches 9.4 billion passengers, surpassing the year 2019 that welcomed 9.2 billion passengers (102.5% of the 2019 level).
Upside factors include the consolidation of the reopening of the Chinese market and surge in domestic travel, supply chain disruptions gradually subsiding, and inflation slowing down.
While downside risks remain present, we continue to witness the dedicated efforts and commitment of ACI airport members and partners—such as their on-time performance—and we are filled with optimism about the industry’s future.
The airport categories in the On-Time Performance Review are based on the current level of flight activity. American airports reached great results with Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport (MSP) leading in the Global and Large airport categories. American Airports – Salt Lake City International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport take fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place respectively in the Global category. Indian airports strengthen their on-time performance and continue last year’s trend – Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and Kempegowda International Airport leap to second and third place in both the Global and Large Airport categories.
Japanese airports continue to prove their on-time performance lead with Osaka International Airport holding first position in the Medium Airport category, while Chubu Centrair International Airport takes second position in the Small Airport category.
Latin American airports make significant headway in all airport categories; Mariscal Sucre International Airport leads in the Small Airport category and Jose Joaquin de Olmedo Airport achieve third place; Tocumen International Airport, Jorge Chavez International Airport, and Brasilia International Airport secure second, third and fourth in the Medium airports category; and El Dorado International Airport the fourth in the Global and Large airports categories–all participating in the top 5 of their respective groups.
Their stellar performance could not be better timed: Latin America and the Caribbean is in fact forecasted by ACI World to be the first region to surpass its 2019 level, reaching 707 million passengers, or 102.9% of the 2019 level by the end of 2023.
It is clear that airlines’ performance is attached to airport results and vice versa, showing once more the joint efforts to build efficiency with benefits for passengers and the whole aviation ecosystem. Congratulations to the top airports in each of the categories for their exceptional on-time performance as we continue to build a sustainable aviation ecosystem fit to welcome current and future travellers with efficiency, performance, and an exceptional passenger experience. We can only operate successfully and reach new heights as an ecosystem when all aviation stakeholders come together around the needs of passengers and communities worldwide.
Delta Air Lines celebrates its third consecutive year as Cirium’s Platinum Award winner for global operational excellence.
Avianca Airlines emerges as the global leader in punctuality.
Delta Air Lines also comes out on top in North America, with Iberia Express leading in Europe, Copa in Latin America, ANA in Asia Pacific, and Oman Air in the Middle East and Africa. Safair triumphs as the leading low-cost carrier.
Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport stands out as the top global airport performer in 2023.
LONDON, JANUARY 2, 2024 – In an industry synonymous with operational complexity, Cirium, the world’s most trusted source of aviation analytics, today announces its much-anticipated 2023 On-Time Performance Review that celebrates operating excellence. This year’s winners, hailing from every corner of the globe, have not only risen to the occasion but have set new benchmarks in operational performance and punctuality.
Delta Air Lines has been honored with the Cirium Platinum Award for the third year running, a demonstration of its commitment to operational performance and minimizing passenger disruption.
Along with Delta winning the Cirium Platinum Award, the airline also topped the rankings for being the most on-time airline in North America. The coveted position of the most on-time Global airline went to Avianca Airlines, based in Bogota, Colombia. 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. More in-depth results are available below and download the 2023 On-Time Performance Review for the full results.
An on-time flight is defined as a flight that arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival. For an airport, it is defined as departing within 15 minutes of its scheduled departure.
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, remarks, “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.”
Now in its 15th year, the Cirium On-Time Performance program continues to meticulously monitor global airline operational performance. Our extensive and unbiased data, derived from over 600 real-time information sources, is essential for industry stakeholders. Our data encompasses airlines, airports, global distribution systems, civil aviation authorities, and more, ensuring a comprehensive and neutral perspective.
The company’s data and analytics are based on the widest and deepest pool of information collected and curated from more than 600 sources of real-time flight information.
Cirium is continuing to lead the way, worldwide, in monitoring aviation on-time performance in the New Year, as the industry adjusts to post-pandemic norms. The company’s data and analytics are designed to provide industry stakeholders with a neutral, third-party perspective, based on the widest and deepest pool of information collected and curated from more than 600 sources of real-time flight information.
These include the airlines themselves, airports, global distribution systems, positional data, civil aviation authorities, air navigation service providers, proprietary data partnerships and the internet. Cirium’s on-time performance data is backed by a completely independent board of advisors, comprised of industry experts with an unbiased view of the aviation sector. The board’s oversight ensures accuracy and proper representation of all the information the company presents.
About Cirium Cirium® is the world’s most trusted source of aviation analytics. The company delivers powerful data and cutting-edge analytics to empower a wide spectrum of industry players. It equips airlines, airports, travel enterprises, aircraft manufacturers, and financial entities with the clarity and intelligence they need to optimize their operations, make informed decisions, and accelerate revenue growth.
Cirium® is part of LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, a RELX business, which provides information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The shares of RELX PLC are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX.
Azul Airlines has been the fastest growing airline in Brazil since they commenced operations in December 2008 and currently have the largest airline network in the country in terms of cities served, with service to more than 100 destinations, and 792 daily flights. Azul leverages Cirium data to help improve operations and to deliver superior customer experience to their millions of customers worldwide.
Learn more in our Q&A below.
Q: Last year, Azul not only won Cirium’s on-time performance in the Latin America region (Mainline and Network), but had a historical win, as the first Latin America airline to win the Global Mainline category in Cirium’s 14 years of reporting. What do you think is behind this historic achievement and remarkable performance for Azul?
Jeremy Bowen, Cirium Chief Executive Officer; John Rodgerson, Chief Executive Officer of Azul Airlines; Mike Malik, Cirium Chief Marketing Officer
A: “I could not be more proud of our operation and our crewmembers, which led Azul to be not only the most on-time airline in the world, but also the airline with one of the highest customer satisfaction metrics. Demand for Azul’s products and services has never been stronger, and we remain optimistic about the opportunities ahead of us in the second half of the year, seasonally our strongest period.
At Azul, we have the most passionate Crewmembers who are obsessed with Customer service. And this service always starts with a punctual airline operation. We have a complex operation flying to over 160 cities around the world, with many different types of aircraft, which makes this achievement even more impressive. This is truly a team effort and I am proud to be part of this team”. Says John Rodgerson, CEO of Azul.
“I could not be more proud of our operations and our crewmembers, which led Azul to be not only the most on-time airline in the world, but also the airline with one of the highest customer satisfaction metrics.”
John Rodgerson, Chief Executive Officer, Azul Airlines
Q: How has the Cirium’s data helped Azul to conduct operations differently and efficiently?
A: With Cirium’s data, Azul achieved a better level of real-time operation tracking.
It allows us to keep track of operational information from other Airlines (national and international), identifying possible gaps and opportunities of improvement. When the performance of several companies at the same airport declines, for example, this could be a problem at the airport and not necessarily a gap in a company process.
Cirium’s data encourages Azul to always get better and maintain our leadership with a high level of service and operational performance. Always focused on our customer centric culture with a great and safe on-time performance.
Q: What were the critical organizational and operational changes Azul made during the pandemic?
A: During the pandemic, we promoted several transformations in the customer experience based on new customer needs. One of the leading behavioral changes we identified was social distancing at boarding time. It made customers much more sensitive to the company when boarding the aircraft, becoming a crucial factor in choosing an airline. That way, we created the “Tapete Azul | Blue Carpet”, a disruptive technology applied during boarding time.
The system provides safer, more organized, and agile boarding. We also successfully created touchless solutions, which resulted in more security for our customers, such as: self-service adoption at check-in and self-drop baggage.
Q: How have you tried to foster a culture based on data-driven decision making?
A: We created an environment based on data to support decisions and analyses. We always bring together all the stakeholders involved in a subject (creating concepts, indicators, very visual dashboards…) to monitor our results. It’s very important to have data teams united thinking and working together.
“We have a team focused on analyzing operational data, which feeds the company with various indicators and dashboards (historical and in real time). Such information are essential to evaluate and improve the company’s performance. This team investigate the past and monitor the present in order to be prepared for the future.”
Daniel Tkacz, Operational Vice President, Azul Airlines
Q: How valuable do you think a partnership with Cirium will contribute to the future success of Azul?
A: Currently in the world, those who have data can assemble information and especially with Cirium products we can have strategic decisions and follow-ups, and the sharing of this information generates healthy competition between companies in the sector and makes Azul always want to improve. It’s a win-win relationship.
See the full version of the Cirium and Azul Airlines Q&A
It’s an exciting time of year for Cirium as we announce the winners of our eleventh annual On-Time Performance Review for airlines and airports.
A lot of hard work goes into making sure a flight is on-time and any number of things can go wrong that are beyond any airline’s control. Factors like airport congestion, taxi times from the runways, gate availability, those tend to be in the control of air traffic control or the airport itself. If you have exceptional on-time performance, then you can proudly announce that you’ve done a good job in spite of everything that has worked against you.
To tell you the truth, airlines and airports do not get nearly enough credit for how difficult it is to provide air transportation. Although you are expected to get travelers from point A to point B on time, it’s more important that you get travelers from point A to point B safely. Many travelers have a difficult time understanding that delays will happen. It is the nature of air travel.
Here are a few ways airlines and airports can capitalize on their on-time performance:
Feed it to the marketing department
Customer satisfaction is about more than airfare discounts and flight availability. When considering an airline, travelers also need timeliness and assurance.
Traveler experience and brand reputation is impacted by real-time changes within your operations. Fluctuations in your activities, or your competitors, can swing value in your favor.
When an airline makes a statement about on-time performance, they’re often met with skepticism because the public often doubts an airline would report accurate information about itself. Promoting performance numbers reported by a third party helps remove that skepticism and increase credibility.
If you have an impressive on-time performance ranking, then you can leverage that information as content for your promotional channels, including social media, corporate blogs and advertisements. For example:
Japan Airlines displayed their award recognition on the homepage of their website when they were named the most on-time airline in the Asia Pacific region.
Iberia Airlines included their accomplishment of most on-time airline in Europe in their cover photo on Twitter and shared several posts about their win.
Work it into sales discussions with key accounts
After promoting your on-time performance to the general traveler audience, you can also use it to strengthen relationships with corporations and their business travelers. Many airlines already use their on-time performance ranking to offer service level agreements to corporations that greatly influence purchasing decisions. As for airports, you can include your outstanding on-time performance in your pitches to the airlines you want to fly to your airport.
A few years ago, both Delta and United started offering an Operational Performance Commitment (OPC) in their corporate contracts, promising to pay corporate customers if they don’t maintain better on-time performance than their competitors. As a result, corporate customers are becoming more loyal because of the effort airlines are making to hold themselves to a higher standard.
Use it for operations analysis to pinpoint improvement projects
The beauty of living in the age of big data is that is allows airlines and airports to take a deeper look at what they can change to impact on-time performance. Airlines and airports can create visibility to flag operations issues by building on-time metrics into their performance tracking. Monitoring on-time performance by route, by airport, and by aircraft, allows airlines and airports to use data analytics to bring the obviously low hanging fruit to the forefront and make quick changes to gradually improve their operations. Many of the most data-driven airlines and airports hold weekly operational leadership meetings where team members from divisions across the airline gather to analyze individual details that had an impact on on-time performance.
On-time performance data can help you understand the performance of your network and codeshare partners. Be diligent about evaluating partner performance or thinking strategically about how to become more synchronized. It’s essential to reputation management and overall operational numbers that partnerships support your business objectives.
11th annual On-Time Performance Review
Determining the winners of the On-Time Performance Review requires a team of data experts applying advanced analytics to examine flight status arrival and departure data aggregated from global sources including civil aviation authorities, airlines, airports, and major online reservation systems.
If you believe your airline or airport’s flights are not fully covered in our database, please contact us and our team would be happy to discuss our Airline Partnership Program where we can integrate your real-time flight status data at no cost and provide you with tools to help monitor and benchmark your on-time performance.
Looking for ways to improve your on-time performance? We offer custom Workbooks for Operational Intelligence, which contain live dashboards that help you manage operations in real time by incorporating new insights into your strategic planning process. See where to optimize performance with a comprehensive view of daily, weekly or monthly flights at the airline, airport, market and route levels. Request a demo today.
LONDON, January 2 2020 – Russia’s Aeroflot has been named as the world’s most on-time mainline airline in the annual On-Time Performance (OTP) Review released today by travel data and analytics expert Cirium.
The OTP Review identifies the world’s best performing airlines and airports for on-time flight operations in 2019.
According to the long-running analysis by Cirium, which provides the definitive ranking of the top ten most on-time airlines and airports globally, by size and region, 86.7 percent of Aeroflot’s flights operated on-time in 2019.
Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) came in second place with 86.3 percent of its flights on time.
Last year’s winner, Delta Air Lines, took third place in the global category with 85.7 percent of flights arriving on-time but topped the ranking in the North America category in both mainline and network.
Meanwhile, Latin American airline LATAM clinches top ranking of the global network airline category with 86.7 percent of the flights in its network arriving on time.
The 2019 review also reveals that the most punctual airline in Europe is also Aeroflot. In the Asia Pacific, ANA takes top spot; Copa Airlines is most on-time in Latin America; and in the Middle East and Africa, Qatar Airways beats Emirates to top ranking.
Japanese airline StarFlyer is named the world’s most punctual low cost carrier with 91.4 percent of flights arriving on-schedule.
Cirium’s OTP Review also identifies the world’s most punctual airport, with Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International (SVO) operating the most on-schedule departing flights, with 95 percent being on time.
As the world’s leading authority on airline on-time performance, aviation and travel data analytics expert Cirium has now published its annual review for 11 consecutive years.
It is designed to raise the benchmark by encouraging airlines and airports to invest, ensuring they operate on-time and provide their customers with a best-in-class travel experience, both in the air and on the ground.
Jeremy Bowen, Cirium CEO, said: “We apply the highest level of data analysis to form our On-Time Performance Review and we’re delighted to announce that Aeroflot surpassed other leading airlines as the world’s most on-time mainline airline.
“Looking at the Russian carrier’s past year it’s clear that as Aeroflot has more controls in place over their environment than most, that helps enormously to drive operational efficiency. Russia’s successful year continues with Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International airport also winning the top spot as the most punctual airport.
“Airlines and airports which consistently operate on-time and go that extra mile for their customers deserve to be recognized in an increasingly competitive environment and should be justifiably proud of reaching such a world-class industry standard.”
Jeremy Bowen added: “Achieving world-class customer satisfaction and industry-leading product differentiation is about more than just competitively priced tickets and flight availability. When choosing who to fly with, savvy travellers also now consider airline punctuality and operational reliability.
“We believe Cirium’s On-Time Performance Review 2019 will inspire airlines and airports to continue innovating to improve their performance. By embracing digital transformation and leveraging data to its full potential, Cirium can help the aviation industry harness its power to improve on-time performance and enhance the passenger experience.”
The Cirium OTP review draws on over a decade of experience reporting on the on-time performance of airlines and airports. Cirium has tracked, analyzed and recognized the hard work of carriers and hubs which deliver on their promise to fly customers to their destinations on time.
Cirium’s 600 unrivaled data sources, including almost every airline around the world, means it tracks over a staggering 100,000 flights a day and bases its analysis on an 80 percent coverage requirement for each category. According to Cirium, an airline’s flight is on-time if the aircraft arrives at the gate under 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time. Airport on-time performance is measured by on-time departing flights.
Using its advanced technology, Cirium’s dedicated team of expert data analysts process 15 million updates a day – 18 times more than the industry average – to ensure the most accurate results with multi-source verification.
This data enables Cirium’s analysts to provide powerful and meaningful insights for every sector of the aviation industry to ensure customers are at the heart of everything they do.
The awards are grouped into three areas including Global Airlines, Major Airlines by Region and Low Cost Carriers, and there are strict criteria – for example for the Global Airline category Cirium considers the top 10 percent of all airlines by size.
Cirium has created a new, prestigious board of elite industry professionals to provide an independent view of the analysis of on-time performance.
Jeremy Bowen commented: “Cirium’s data is used widely by airlines, airports as well as varying companies involved in travel and we are considered as the pre-eminent leaders in this space. For this reason, we are the only company that are transparent and have a board for independent oversight in this area.”
