Mexican airline Aeromexico had the world’s best record for on-time arrivals in 2024, according to a new annual ranking. Delta Air Lines earned the highest score among US airlines despite a computer outage which led to thousands of flight cancellations in July.
Aviation data provider Cirium said in a report announced Thursday that nearly 87 percent of Aeromexico flights arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival, a widely used measure of on-time performance among airlines.
Saudithe flagship carrier of Saudi Arabia, ranks second globally, with an on-time rate of just over 86%, according to Cirium.
Cirium has rated airlines for their opportunity for 16 years. This year’s ranking is based on data from more than 600 real-time flight information sources, according to the report. To qualify for on-time classification, airlines must provide 80% actual gate arrival time data coverage.
Chief executive Jeremy Bowen said 2024 was a difficult year for airlines due to severe weather patterns and technology disruption in the summer. So the winning airlines deserve credit for getting the most passengers to their destinations on time, Bowen said.
Based in Atlanta delta achieved a punctuality rate of over 83%, good enough to rank third globally. The next best US carriers were United Airlinesat nearly 81 percent, and Alaska Airlines at just over 79 percent, Cirium said.
Canada’s WestJet, Air Canada and Denver based budget airline Frontier finished at the bottom of the pack among US and Canadian carriers, with punctuality scores below 72%.
Missing from the list is Jet Blue, which was fined $2 million on Friday by the US Department of Transportation for “operating multiple chronically delayed flights.” The fine is the first such penalty by the federal agency.
Here are the top 10 global airlines for on-time arrivals in 2024, according to Cirium:
- Aeromexico (86.70%)
- Saudi (86.35%)
- Delta Air Lines (83.46%)
- LATAM Airlines (82.89%)
- Qatar Airways (82.83%)
- Blue (82.42%)
- Avianca (81.80%)
- Iberia (81.58%)
- SAS (81.40%)
- United Airlines (80.93%)
Keeping on schedule is not just a reputational issue for operators. The Department of Transport announced it on Friday fines JetBlue $2 million for “operating multiple chronically delayed flights,” marking the first such penalty by the federal agency.
“Today’s action puts the entire airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “The department will enforce the law against airlines with chronic delays or other unrealistic scheduling practices to protect healthy competition in commercial aviation and ensure passengers are treated fairly.”