Australian and New Zealand carriers had a strong showing in the regional rankings of the world’s most punctual airlines 2025 with three making it into the top 10 Asia-Pacific list of annual on-time performance aviation analytics.
Cirium’s 2025 On-Time Performance Review named Virgin Australia and Qantas at number eight and nine, respectively, in the top 10 Asia-Pacific Airlines list, while Air New Zealand took out second place for the most punctual airlines 2025 regionally.
An on-time flight is considered one that arrives within 14:59 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival time. It’s an important factor for frequent flyers and a differentiator in the competitive aviation market.
Air New Zealand achieved 79.29 per cent on-time performance (OTP) across 171,216 flights in 2025, Virgin Australia was recognised for 76.54 per cent punctuality across 155,038 flights and Qantas for 76.51 per cent across 276,859 flights last year.
However, no APAC carriers made it into the global top 10 most punctual airlines 2025 list with Aeromexico maintaining a 90.02 per cent OTP to claim the world’s most on-time global airline title for the second consecutive year.
Qatar Airways claimed Cirium’s Platinum Award of most punctual airlines 2025 with 84.42 per cent OTP across more than 198,303 flights spanning six continents.
Cirium CEO Jeremy Bowen said Qatar Airways’ win sets a new benchmark for network carriers.
“[It] is particularly significant because it demonstrates how a network carrier can maintain on-time performance across six continents while operating one of the industry’s most complex hub structures,” he said.
Virgin Atlantic won Cirium’s newly added ‘Most Improved’ award, demonstrating the largest year-on-year operational gain among global carriers of at least 70 per cent baseline OTP.
Philippine Airlines claimed the regional Asia-Pacific title for the first time with 83.12 per cent on-time performance.
Rounding out the APAC list was All-Nippon Airways (ANA) in third place, Singapore Airlines (4), JAL (5), IndiGo (6), Cathay Pacific (7) and Korean Air (10).
Now in its 17th year, Cirium’s On-Time Performance Review analyses flight data from 600-plus real-time sources, including airlines, airports, global distribution systems and civil aviation authorities.
Read the full list here.
KARRYON UNPACKS: A strong punctuality record shows that operational reliability continues to define brand trust in the competitive Asia-Pacific aviation market, making on-time performance a key selling point for travel advisors and corporate clients alike.
