Most On-Time US Airlines In 2023
A new year brings with it the opportunity to discover.
Vacations can be a great way to have fun and make memories. While visiting new locales and connecting with distant relatives can be exciting, they can be easily spoiled by flight delays or cancellations. As people prepare for their 2024 trips, they will likely want to know which airlines and airports to use to minimize these disruptions.
Cirium, an aviation analytics company, has just unveiled its On-Time Performance Review 2023, which has been assessing the timeliness of airlines and airports for more than a decade and a half. The review is based on analyzing data from 600 real-time flight sources.
In the previous year, the airline industry experienced a boom in activity, with a total of 32 million flights being recorded in reports. Carriers based in North America in particular managed to meet the large demand for travel by increasing their operations.
James Hetzel, Product Marketing Director at Cirium, predicted in the report that as the years progress to 2024, “sustained operational excellence” is expected as labor shortages and airport infrastructure issues get addressed and settled.
The report has predicted that the next year will be bustling with travelers, with a projection of up to 9.4 billion passengers, a number greater than that of 2019’s 9.2 billion.
The top North American airlines for punctuality in 2023
For the second year in a row, Delta Air Lines has been crowned the leader in on-time arrivals; of the 1.4 million flights operated in 2023, an impressive 84.72% arrived within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
- Delta Air Lines had an on-time flight rate of 84.72%
- Alaska Airlines were at 82.25%
- American Airlines was 80.61%
- United Airlines had a 80.04% rate
- Southwest Airlines’ rate was 76.26%
- Spirit Airlines – 71.16%
- WestJet had 69.29%
- Frontier Airlines was 68.68%
- JetBlue Airways had 68.33%
- Air Canada was 63.17%
In 2023, the North American aviation industry reported an on-time arrival rate of 74.45%, slightly higher than the 74.26% in 2022. Additionally, there were almost 400,000 additional scheduled flights in 2023 compared to the previous year.
The top-rated US airports for on-time departures in the year 2023
- The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has an on-time flight rate of 84.44%.
- At 83.99%, Salt Lake City International Airport is close behind.
- Ronald Reagan National Airport follows with 83.20% of flights arriving on time.
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is at 83.09%, while Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is at 82.97%.
- Philadelphia International Airport stands at 82.75%, and LaGuardia Airport is at 81.34%.
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport has an on-time flight rate of 80.36%, with San Diego International Airport at 80.32%.
- Washington Dulles International Airport rounds out the list with 80.26% of flights arriving on time.
20 of the major airports in the world made it onto the list of those with the best on-time departure performance. In 2023, the global rate of on-time departures was at 78.52%.