Summary
- Delta Air Lines remains the most punctual US carrier, with an on-time performance rate of over 80% in June.
- Delta has held the top spot for six consecutive months, beating out Alaska Airlines and United Airlines.
- Washington Dulles International was the most punctual US airport during the same period, leading the way in on-time departures.
Delta Air Lines was once again the most on-time US carrier in June, recording an on-time performance (OTP) rate of over 80%. This put Delta 8th globally behind the world’s most reliable airline, Saudia, while Washington Dulles International was the most on-time US airport during the same period.
Delta most on-time US airline
According to the latest Monthly On-Time Performance Report from aviation analytics firm Cirium, Delta made it six consecutive months as the country’s most on-time airline with an OTP of 80.05%. This was a slight decline from the 81.04% registered in May, itself a drop from Delta’s 85.73% OTP in April.
Photo: JHVEPhoto | Shutterstock
The airline was followed by Alaska Airlines in second (77.79%) and United Airlines in third (77.44%), with American Airlines (73.62%) and Spirit Airlines (72.52%) rounding up the top five.
On-time performance measures flights arriving within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time; or for airports, flights departing within 15 minutes of schedule.
US carriers on-time performance June 2024
Ranking |
Airline |
On-Time Arrival |
Total Flights |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
Delta Air Lines |
80.05% |
148,781 |
2 |
Alaska Airlines |
77.79% |
38,364 |
3 |
United Airlines |
77.44% |
136,737 |
4 |
American Airlines |
73.62% |
187,629 |
5 |
Spirit Airlines |
72.52% |
25,889 |
6 |
Southwest Airlines |
72.48% |
127,415 |
7 |
WestJet |
71.95% |
16,876 |
8 |
JetBlue |
71.83% |
27,374 |
9 |
Air Canada |
69.60% |
33,373 |
10 |
Frontier Airlines |
64.18% |
20,134 |
These ten airlines reached a collective on-time arrival rate of 73.15% over 762,572 total flights. There was a modest increase in flight cancelations in the US over June (11,806) compared to May (11,491), with most airlines holding up well during the start of the hectic summer season.
US airport on-time performance June 2024
Four US airports made the world’s top 20 most punctual airports – Washington Dulles International (IAD), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW) and Los Angeles International (LAX).
Photo: Kristi Blokhin | Shutterstock
Global Ranking |
Airport |
On-Time Departure |
Total Flights |
Avg Dep Delay |
Routes Served |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
8 |
Washington Dulles International Airport |
80.43% |
20,278 |
73 |
135 |
12 |
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport |
78.58% |
66,200 |
58 |
230 |
16 |
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport |
77.63% |
25,225 |
76 |
112 |
17 |
Los Angeles International Airport |
77.57% |
44,534 |
64 |
182 |
Interestingly, one of Delta’s major hubs – Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP) – oversawsaw a large 12-point drop in on-time performance, declining from 82.56% in May to 70.60% last month.
The global picture
Airlines
Looking at the worldwide results for airlines, Delta was the only US carrier to make the top ten. Saudia continues its rapid progress toward becoming an elite global airline as June’s most punctual airline (88.22%), dethroning Aeromexico (86.18%), which came just ahead of LATAM Airlines (85.83%) in third.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
Japan Airlines came fourth with an OTP of 85.10%, while another Latin American airline, Azul, jumped from 9th to 5th place with an OTP of 84.83%.
On-Time Ranking |
Airline |
On-Time Arrival |
Total Flights |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
Saudia |
88.22% |
16,133 |
2 |
Aeromexico |
86.18% |
16,844 |
3 |
LATAM Airlines |
85.83% |
45,101 |
4 |
JAL |
85.10% |
25,731 |
5 |
Azul |
84.83% |
25,902 |
6 |
ANA |
83.71% |
24,376 |
7 |
Qatar Airways |
81.01% |
16,772 |
8 |
Delta Air Lines |
80.05% |
148,781 |
9 |
Avianca |
79.97% |
21,895 |
10 |
Iberia |
77.69% |
15,840 |
Airports
Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport (RUH) was once again crowned the world’s most punctual airport with an OTP of 85.60%, a slight decrease from last month (88.23%), out of a top five also dominated by Latin America.
Photo: Fedor Selivanov | Shutterstock
Ranking |
Airport |
On-Time Departure |
Total Flights |
Avg Delay |
Routes Served |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
King Khalid International Airport |
85.60% |
20,596 |
50 |
104 |
2 |
São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport |
85.13% |
21,318 |
43 |
96 |
3 |
Jorge Chavez International Airport |
83.95% |
14,297 |
70 |
63 |
4 |
Tokyo Haneda Airport |
83.63% |
38,672 |
32 |
99 |
5 |
Benito Juarez International Airport |
82.64% |
25,396 |
54 |
96 |
São Paulo (CGH) was the most punctual airport in the ‘Large’ category; Santos Dumont (SDU) topped the ‘Medium’ airports; while Cape Town (CPT) was the best of the ‘Small’ category.
Do you find Delta Air Lines to be the most reliable airline to fly with? Let us know why, or why not, in the comments section.