The most 'on-time' airlines in the world have been revealed in new report
Mexican airline Aeromexico had the world's best record for on-time arrivals in 2024, according to an annual ranking released this week.
Aviation-data provider Cirium said in a report that nearly 87 per cent of Aeromexico flights arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival, a widely used measure of on-time performance among airlines.
Saudia, the flagship carrier of Saudi Arabia, ranked second worldwide, with an on-time performance rate of just over 86 per cent, according to the report.
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Mexican airline Aeromexico had the world's best record for on-time arrivals in 2024. AAP
Japan Airlines took the title among airlines in the Asia Pacific region with a performance rate of 80.9 per cent.
Qantas was the only carrier here to make the top 10 - 73.9 per cent of the Aussie airline's flights arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival.
Qantas' budget arm Jetstar and rival Virgin Australia, recorded on-time performance rates of 73.4 per cent and 72.7 per cent respectively.
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Cirium has rated airlines for timeliness for 16 years. CEO Jeremy Bowen said 2024 was a difficult year for airlines due to severe weather patterns and the summer technology outage.
The winning airlines therefore deserved credit for getting most passengers to their destinations on time, Bowen said.
In the Asia Pacific, Japan's carriers performed the best. Getty
Delta Air Lines scored the highest among US carriers, despite a computer outage that caused thousands of flight cancellations in July.
Atlanta-based Delta achieved an on-time rate of more than 83 per cent, good enough to rank third worldwide. The next-best US carriers were United Airlines, at nearly 81 per cent, and Alaska Airlines, at just over 79 per cent.
Canada’s WestJet, Air Canada and Denver-based budget airline Frontier finished at the bottom of the pack among U.S. and Canadian carriers, with on-time ratings below 72 per cent.
Other regional winners around the globe, according to Cirium, low-cost Spanish carrier Iberia Express, Panama’s Copa Airlines, and South African low-cost carrier FlySafair.
Top 10 most on-time airlines in the world
- AeromexicoS
- Saudia
- Delta Air Lines
- LATAM Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- Azul
- Avianca
- Iberia
- SAS
- United Airlines
Qantas was the only Aussie airline to crack the top 10 in the region. Getty
Top 10 most on-time airlines in Asia Pacific region
- Japan Airlines
- ANA (All Nippon Airways)
- Singapore Airlines
- Air New Zealand
- Thai AirAsia
- Vietnam Airlines
- Philippine Airlines
- Garuda Indonesia
- Cathay Pacific
- Qantas
The most on-time airport in the world
The best airport for on-time departures in 2024 was King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Nearly 87 per cent of flights from there took off within 15 minutes of their scheduled time, the report said.
Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru, and Mexico City's Benito Juárez International Airport had the next-best departure records at over 84 per cent.
