Which airlines have the least delays? Here are the results for 2024 - ORSOLTECH

It was Aeromexico The world's most punctual airline in 2024, According to a report published by aviation analytics company Cirium.

About 86.7% of its flights arrived “on time,” i.e. arriving within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival times.

This result was “definitely” “It's a surprise,” said Cerium CEO Jeremy Bowen.Squawk Asia Fund“Friday.

“They had a great year,” he said. “They increased their on-time performance… by a whopping 9%. Going from outside the top 10 to first place is absolutely unprecedented.”

Bowen said AeroMexico's rise is due to the company's culture, investment in new equipment, and the relationship with its hub at Mexico City International Airport, which ranked fourth for flight times among global airports in Cirium's report. When the airline and its hub achieve good results, “it is because they are working effectively as a team,” he said.

Saudi Airlines (formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines) is ranked second among global airlines – up from ninth in 2018 Cerium Rankings 2023 – With 86.35% of flights arriving on time, according to the report published Thursday.

Delta Air Lines (83.46%) ranked third, followed by LATAM Airlines (82.89%) and Qatar Airways (82.83%), according to the Cirium study.On-time performance review for 2024“For the fourth year in a row, Cirium has named Delta the “Best Global Airline for Operational Excellence,” in recognition of its punctuality and scale. It is one of the largest airlines in the world.

Overall, on-time flight arrivals were down 0.5% in 2024 compared to the previous year, Bowen said.

He said the Crowd Strike software update, which inadvertently grounded thousands of flights, especially those operated by Delta Air Lines, hurt overall punctuality in the industry.

“We also faced a lot of abnormal weather conditions globally,” he said.

On-time performance is a critical factor for passenger satisfaction and a key validation metric in the airline industry. Delays often result in increased costs for airlines, with lower crew morale, especially among those who directly interact with passengers searching for answers to delays.

Regional airline winners

The report also analyzed the performance of regional airlines in punctuality, with many of them providing higher percentages of punctuality than the list of global airlines.

The report stated that the South African airline Safir landed about 93.82% of its scheduled flights on time. Oman Air did the same for 90.27% of its flights, as did Copa Airlines, the national carrier of Panama (88.22%), and Royal Jordanian Airlines (87.02%).

In Europe, Iberia Express (84.69%) and Iberia (81.58%) ranked first and second, as they did in Cirium's 2023 rankings are on time.

Japan's two largest airlines – Japan Airlines (80.90%) and All Nippon Airways (80.62%) – once again topped the Asia-Pacific list, but punctuality percentages for both fell last year compared to 2023, according to Cirium.

Delta Air Lines ranked first in North America, followed by United Airlines (80.93%) and Alaska Airlines (79.25%).

Best airports for on-time performance

King Khalid International Airport in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ranked first among global airports, with more than 86% of its flights departing on time in 2024, according to Cirium’s annual report.

On-time flights at airports are defined as those that depart within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure times.

The report showed that Tocumen International Airport in Panama (90.34%) topped the classification of medium-sized airports, while Jose Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport in Ecuador (91.38%) was named the most accurate small airport in the world.