Qantas has been ranked Australia’s most on-time airline for the eighth straight year with more than 81 per cent of its domestic and regional flights departing on time for the year up to June 2026.
The result is the national carrier’s best on-time performance since 2019 and its strongest showing in seven years.
The latest Bureau of Infrastructure & Transport Research Economics (BITRE) report shows the carrier’s domestic and regional on-time departures were up 3.4 per cent on the previous financial year and 5.4 per cent higher than FY24.
The airline also finished ahead of its major domestic competitor by around 3.5 per cent, winning 11 out of 12 months across the year.
The reported figures combine Qantas Domestic and QantasLink flying to give the fullest picture of punctuality across the domestic and regional network.
QantasLink operates around 60 per cent of the carrier’s reported domestic flights, connecting regional communities across the country, even as the airline reshapes some Northern Territory routes amid rising costs and falling demand.
It comes as Qantas closed the year strongly as the world’s most on-time major airline with almost 85 per cent of flights departing on time in June 2026, according to aviation analytics firm OAG.
It was the fifth time in six months that QF has ranked among the top three major airlines globally.
Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson said the result reflects work across the whole operation.
“Getting more customers away on time is a team effort across every part of the operation, from engineering and operations to airports and our technology teams. We’ve seen consistent improvement in our on-time performance over the past few years and it’s a credit to our teams that we’re now regularly among the world’s leading airlines,” he said.
“An 81 per cent on-time rate is the best we’ve delivered since 2019, and it’s translating directly into how customers rate their experience with us, which is also on the rise.
“We know we can’t get complacent and in aviation each day brings new challenges, which is why we’re continuing work on improving our reliability and better supporting customers when things don’t go to plan.”
KARRYON UNPACKS: Punctuality is one of the few objective metrics for advisors to leverage. An eighth straight year at the top, plus a June result rated the world’s best, showcases reliability for connecting fares and tight regional links where a missed departure can affect the whole trip.
