Aviation Analytics platform, Cirium, has provided a list of the world’s most on-time airlines for 2024.
Cirium measures the on-time performance for airlines over the period of one year.
Therefore instances where intervals of service disruption occurred do not hugely impact an airline’s overall on-time performance.
“The on-time performance numbers are measured over 365 days, not the five days where a specific carrier had an issue,” says Mike Malik, Chief Marketing Officer at Cirium.
ON-TIME AIRLINES PERFORMANCE 2024
According to Cirium, the world’s most on-time international airline was Mexico’s Aeromexico.
Cirium states that 86.7% of Aeromexico’s flights arrived on time in 2024.
Following, in second place is Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), with an 86.35% on-time performance.
US-based Delta Air Lines came in third position, with an on-time performance of 83.46% in 2024.
MOST ON-TIME AIRLINES 2024 (GLOBAL)
1. Aeromexico: 86.70% (on-time arrivals)
2. Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia): 86.35%
3. Delta Air Lines: 83.46%
4. LATAM Airlines: 82.89%
5. Qatar Airways: 82.83%
6. Azul Airlines: 82.42%
7. Avianca: 81.80%
8. Iberia: 81.58%
9. Scandinavian Airlines: 81.4%
10. United Airlines: 80.93%
Cirium published this list on 2 January.
REGIONAL WINNERS
Other regional winners include Japan Airlines (Asia Pacific) Delta Airlines (North America) Iberia Express (Europe) and Copa Airlines (Latin America).
South Africa’s FlySafair topped the regional list for Africa and the Middle East.
This is not the first time the South African budget airline has been nominated for its on-time performance.
“This achievement is particularly significant for South African aviation, positioning the country as a leader in dependable air travel within the continent,” said Cirium’s Marketing Director Jim Hetzel.
According to the Cirium report, of a total of over 57 000 flights (97% tracked) FlySafair had an on-time arrival rate of just under 94%.
In fact, the budget airline also had a completion factor of 99.86% (percentage of flights not cancelled).
AVIATION ANALYTICS TOOL
Cirium analyses more than 25 million data points from 600-plus sources each day, to determine whether airlines are meeting their scheduled arrival times.
A flight is indeed considered punctual if it arrives within 14 minutes and 59 seconds of its scheduled landing time.
Airlines that exceed a threshold of operational size and regional diversity are eligible for the global rankings.
