Aviation analytics company Cirium released its 2023 On-Time Performance results for airlines and airports. I’m most interested in the final numbers for North American airlines. Delta performed best, but American Airlines has really improved, and JetBlue remains abysmal.
| Rank | Airline | On-Time % | ||
| 1st | Delta Air Lines | 84.72% | ||
| 2nd | Alaska Airlines | 82.25% | ||
| 3rd | American Airlines | 80.61% | ||
| 4th | United Airlines | 80.04% | ||
| 5th | Southwest Airlines | 76.26% | ||
| 6th | Spirit Airlines | 71.16% | ||
| 7th | WestJet | 69.29% | ||
| 8th | Frontier Airlines | 68.68% | ||
| 9th | JetBlue Airways | 68.33% | ||
| 10th | Air Canada | 63.17% |
Strictly speaking the last data update to this list was December 31 at 10:05 a.m. Central time, but it doesn’t appear that there were enough disruptions New Years Eve to alter the full year results.
Delta was the best for on-time performance in 2023. Alaska trailed close behind, as they often do. Delta’s operations remain stronger than other airlines, but no longer by a lot. Pre-pandemic they’d go months at a time without cancelling a mainline flight. They don’t come close to that anymore.
What’s striking to me is American‘s improvement. They’ve become reliable. Hopefully that will hold.
Southwest always lags in on-time performance, but they also schedule to turn planes a little faster than rivals. They don’t start boarding until 30 minutes prior to departure, versus 35 and even 40 minutes for competitors.
It’s amazing just how bad the on-time performance of JetBlue is. They’re great once you’re in the air (though also not as great as they once were). On the ground they’re a mess across the board. They should be focused on operating reliably rather than acquiring and then merging Spirit into their operation. If anything, based on the data, Spirit should merge them into theirs! Spirit has really improved its operations a lot compared to where they were 7 and 8 years ago.
And while some of the problems with Air Canada are attributable to their home country’s airports, it is amazing that the Canadian flag carrier is still underperforming JetBlue in on-time operations.
Globally Delta trails Avianca, Azul, and Qatar Airways which were more on-time than the Atlanta-based carrier. Qatar operating more reliably than Delta is perhaps reason enough to reject Delta’s attempts to ban the carrier from growing its U.S. flying, should that political push ever rear their ugly head again.
In Europe, Iberia was most on-time followed by Austrian (that Vienna hub is fantastic), and LOT Polish (no opportunity for Polish jokes!). British Airways, Air France, and Lufthansa failed to crack the top 10.
ANA and Japan Airlines were the most on-time airlines in Asia. Watching JAL board a widebody in 25 minutes is a thing of beauty, and apologies in Japan over 2 minute delays always bring me warmth and a smile.
Among Gulf carriers, Oman Air and Safair were both over 92% on-time but didn’t have the volume to place globally ahead of Qatar. They were the world’s two most on-time airlines in 2023.
Among the world’s most on-time global airports, four were Delta hubs: Minneapolis (#1!), Salt Lake City, Detroit, and Seattle (also home to Alaska Airlines). Obviously they benefited from strong operational airlines, but the airlines also benefited here too. Delta’s New York JFK, Atlanta, Boston and LAX hubs did not make the list. Meanwhile seeing Philadelphia at number 8 surprised me. Doha and Tokyo Haneda at numbers 9 and 10 did not surprise.
Washington National actually outperformed Detroit, Seattle, Philadelphia and Doha. That surprised me, given runway work and constrained approaches. It also tends to perform poorly in weather in my experience, yet was only a smidge behind Salt Lake City with an overall 83.2% on-time performance for the year.
Washington National Historic Terminal
n summary, the 2023 On-Time Performance report offers a revealing snapshot of the aviation landscape, showcasing Delta’s operational excellence, American Airlines’ significant improvement, and JetBlue’s ongoing struggles. While Delta continues to set the benchmark in North America, global competitors like Avianca, Azul, and Qatar Airways are better still. The data also highlights the symbiotic relationship between airlines and airports, with hubs like Minneapolis and Salt Lake City excelling in punctuality.
