Aviation analytics company Cirium crunched the data to see which airlines and airports came out on top for on-time performance globally in 2022 and *drumroll* a low-cost carrier is the winner.
As travel took off again in 2022, airline on-time performance was under scrutiny like never before with rampant reports of delays, disruptions and cancellations amid industry-wide global staff shortages and capacity issues.
With airlines and airports in Europe and North America experiencing delays, disruptions and resource challenges and the Asia Pacific region emerging from COVID restrictions, 2022 was a tricky operational year for the aviation industry.
However, some airlines and airports continued to deliver when it came to on-time performance.
Cirium defines ‘on-time’ as a flight arriving within 15 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival and departing within 15 minutes of its scheduled departure for airports.
Top-performing airlines
No Australian carriers cracked the top 10 list of global airline leaders for on-time performance with South American and Japanese airlines dominating the rankings.
The global overall winner was Brazilian low-cost carrier Azul Airlines with an on-time arrival rate of 88.93 per cent, followed closely by ANA (88.61%), JAL (88%), LATAM Airlines (86.31%) and Delta Air Lines (83.63%).
Middle Eastern carriers Emirates and Qatar Airways came in at number 7 and 9 respectively, while United Airlines and American Airlines were also in the top 10 list.
In the Asia Pacific region, Thai AirAsia topped the list for on-time performance (91.56%), while Air New Zealand achieved seventh place with 81.29 per cent.
For low-cost carriers, Japan’s StarFlyer scooped the rankings with 95.23 per cent on-time arrival in 2022 followed by fellow Japanese airline Solaseed Air (94.53%), Thai AirAsia (91.56%), Azul (88.93%) and Chile’s Sky Airline (88.74%).
Top-performing airports
Tokyo Haneda Airport was the top global airport for on-time performance with 90.33 per cent of scheduled flight departures.
Kempegowda International Airport (Bangalore) came in at number two on the list at 84.08 per cent followed closely by US-based hubs Salt Lake City International Airport (83.87%), Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (82.62%) and Philadelphia International Airport (82.54%).
Local on-time performance
The findings come as Aussie airlines achieved a higher-than-average cancellation rate in October and November 2022.
The latest BITRE report shows in November 2022, on-time performance across all routes operated by participating airlines (Jetstar, Qantas, QantasLink, Rex Airlines, Virgin Australia and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines) averaged 66.2 per cent for on-time arrivals and 66.5 per cent for on-time departures.
