An annual ranking of the world’s airlines with the best on-time arrivals record was released on Thursday, showing Mexican airline Aeromexico at the top of the list and Delta Air Lines ranking the highest among U.S. carriers.
Why It Matters
Flight delays and cancellations frequently make headlines, especially during periods of heavy travel like the holiday season. However, data shows that airlines have excelled in on-time arrivals this past year.
What To Know
In the Thursday report by Cirium, an aviation data provider, almost 87 percent of Aeromexico flights in 2024 approached their destinations within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival. This metric is widely used to measure carriers’ on-time performance.
Which Other Countries Housed Successful Airlines?
The flagship carrier of Saudi Arabia, called Saudia, ranked second worldwide in on-time arrivals. Its on-time performance rate, according to Cirium, was just over 86 percent.
Other successful airlines around the globe included Chile’s LATAM Airlines, Qatar Airways, Brazil’s Azul, Columbia’s Avianca, Spanish budget Iberia Express and SAS, the flagship carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, Cirium’s data shows.
Which U.S. Carriers Were Successful?
Delta ranked third worldwide and first in the U.S. in on-time arrivals with a rate of over 83 percent. Delta’s success came in despite a computer outage that caused thousands of flights to be canceled in July.
The outage followed a faulty upgrade that cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike sent to Microsoft computers worldwide. Delta filed a lawsuit against CrowdStrike, claiming that the outage cost the airline $500 million.
CrowdStrike, meanwhile, accused Delta of giving “misinformation” and claimed that the carrier is attempting to shift blame for its slow recovery from the outage.
United Airlines came second in the U.S. at almost 81 percent and Alaska Airlines followed at just over 79 percent, according to Cirium.
Budget U.S. airline Frontier, Air Canada and Canada’s WestJet finished last among U.S. and Canadian carriers with on-time arrival rates below 72 percent.
Which Airports Had The Best On-Time Departure Record?
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, was the best airport for on-time departures last year with almost 87 percent of flights taking off within 15 minutes of their scheduled time, Cirium said.
The next-best airports for on-time departures were Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru, and Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City with an over 84 percent rate.
What People Are Saying
Jeremy Bowen, CEO of Cirium, said in a statement included in the report: “In 2024, the aviation industry demonstrated incredible resilience and adaptability, overcoming challenges ranging from cybersecurity disruptions, such as the CrowdStrike breach, to weather anomalies that tested global travel operations.”
“Despite these hurdles, airlines and airports continued to prioritize operational excellence, achieving impressive levels of reliability and passenger satisfaction,” he added.
What Happens Next
With the new year underway, airlines have a new chance to excel in on-time arrivals for 2025. Meanwhile, travelers should be aware of new travel requirements kicking in this year so that their trips go as smoothly as possible.
For more details on those travel requirements, click here.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.