The average on-time departure performance among the top 30 airports in December was 68.57%, down from 75.75% in November 2012.
North American Airlines arrival performance
North American airlines, on average, delivered 72.60% of their flights to the arrival gate within 15 minutes of schedule in December, down 9.08 percentage points from November’s 81.68%. Cancelations for the group in December were up sharply: 15,767 canceled flights compared to 9,834 in November 2012. Airlines had to contend with the negative effects from several winter storms during the 2012 holiday travel period.
North America‘s top ten performing airlines and their on-time percentages in December were:
- HA Hawaiian Airlines – 91.40%
- WP Hawaii Island Air dba Island Air – 86.35%
- CM Copa Airlines – 85.75%
- 5D Aerolitoral – 85.68%
- QX Horizon Air – 85.56%
- DL Delta Air Lines – 84.59%
- YV Mesa Airlines – 84.04%
- CP Compass Airlines – 83.55%
- US US Airways – 82.94%
- AS Alaska Airlines – 82.94%
Delta led the majors again in December. Here’s how the North American major carriers on-time arrival percentages compared:
- DL Delta Air Lines – 84.59%
- US US Airways – 82.94%
- AS Alaska Airlines – 82.94%
- UA United Airlines – 77.59%
- AA American Airlines – 75.73%
- WN Southwest Airlines – 74.37%
- B6 Jetblue Airways – 70.21%
- AC Air Canada – 59.90%
NB: FlightStats on-time performance calculations are based upon data collected from a variety of sources- both primary and secondary. Our coverage of any single airline’s flights varies in percentage terms. In some cases, only secondary sources can be obtained that represent a subset of an airline’s total flight operations. This is especially true for certain low-cost carriers, notably Easyjet.
Therefore, the calculations represented here should, in general, be considered indicative of an airline’s performance but not a definitive measure. We continue to work hard to fill in our coverage gaps. However, reaching 100% coverage will require the cooperation of some airlines that, at present, are unwilling to participate.
Top 30 World Airports Departure Performance
Though five of North American airports were in the top ten, Tokyo’s Haneda continues to outperform the rest of the world’s busiest airports while posting a 91.84% on-time departure performance in December. Two European airports, one Australian airport and one Thai Airport rounded out the top 10 in December. The average on-time departure performance among the top 30 airports in December was 68.57%, down from 75.75% in November 2012. The top ten performers among the world’s busiest airports were:
- HND Tokyo, JP – 91.84%
- CLT Charlotte, NC, US – 85.10%
- ATL Atlanta, GA, US – 81.41%
- MCO Orlando, FL, US – 80.08%
- PHX Phoenix, AZ, US – 79.88%
- MAD Madrid, SP, ES – 77.98%
- SYD Sydney, AU – 77.03%
- BKK Bangkok, TH – 76.62%
- LAX Los Angeles, CA, US – 75.07%
- AMS Amsterdam, NL – 74.79%
North American Airports Departure Performance
CLT Charlotte-Douglas International Airport took the top spot with a 85.10% on-time departure performance in December. The average on-time departure performance for the group in December was 76.03%, down 8.09 percentage points from November’s 84.12%. Here is a summary of the on-time departure performance for the ten best performing large North American airports:
- CLT Charlotte, NC, US – 85.10%
- SLC Salt Lake City, UT, US – 83.71%
- MEX Mexico City, MX – 83.52%
- SEA Seattle, WA, US – 83.45%
- PDX Portland, OR, US – 82.39%
- MEM Memphis, TN, US – 82.31%
- DTW Detroit, MI, US – 82.10%
- DCA Washington, DC, US – 81.76%
- MSP Minneapolis, MN, US – 81.54%
- ATL Atlanta, GA, US – 81.41%
European Airlines Arrival Performance
A mix of major and regional European airlines turned in strong performances in December including bmi, Germanwings,NAYASA, Aegean Airlines, and Nordavia. December was the first time in three months that only half of the airlines in the top 10 had at least 90% of their flights to the gate on time. The average OTP for the group was 76.62% in December, down from 86.36% in November.
The top ten on-time arrival performers among European carriers were:
- BD British Midland Airways dba bmi – 96.43%
- 4U Germanwings – 92.08%
- ZN NAYSA – 91.92%
- A3 Aegean Airlines – 91.65%
- 5N Nordavia – Regional Airlines – 90.00%
- XK CCM Airlines – 88.86%
- VY Vueling Airlines – 88.53%
- EI Aer Lingus – 86.95%
- WA KLM Cityhopper – 86.40%
- OK CSA Czech Airlines – 85.76%
NB: FlightStats on-time performance calculations are based upon data collected from a variety of sources- both primary and secondary. Our coverage of any single airline’s flights varies in percentage terms. In some cases, only secondary sources can be obtained that represent a subset of an airline’s total flight operations. This is especially true for certain low-cost carriers.
Therefore, the calculations represented here should, in general, be considered indicative of an airline’s performance but not a definitive measure. We continue to work hard to fill in our coverage gaps. However, reaching 100% coverage will require the cooperation of some airlines that, at present, are unwilling to participate.
Asian Airlines Arrival Performance
Of the top ten Asian airline on time performers, only one delivered >90% of their flights to the gate on time in December. The average on-time performance rating among the 38 Asian airlines we analyzed in December was 71.18%, down 4.30 percentage points from November’s 75.48%.
Here are the top ten on-time arrival performers among Asian carriers:
- 3X Japan Air Commuter – 93.20%
- JL Japan Airlines – 87.19%
- EH ANA Wings – 86.65%
- JC JAL Express – 86.22%
- NU Japan Transocean Air – 85.37%
- XM1 J-Air – 84.45%
- NH ANA – All Nippon Airways – 84.26%
- 6E IndiGo Airlines – 79.95%
- SQ Singapore Airlines – 77.73%
- SG SpiceJet – 77.40%
Middle East Airlines Q4 Arrival Performance
This is our fourth quarterly on-time performance report on Middle Eastern airlines. Jazeera Airways continues to demonstrate its operational excellence with 95.13% of its flights arriving on time in the fourth quarter. The group performed with 76.75% of flights arriving on time.
Here’s a summary of how the Middle Eastern leading airlines performed between October 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012:
-
- J9 Jazeera Airways – 95.13%
- SV Saudi Arabian Airlines – 85.81%
- GF Gulf Air Company – 85.69%
- ME Middle East Airlines – 85.02%
- WY Oman Aviation Services – 83.18%
- QR Qatar Airways – 81.33%
- G9 Air Arabia – 78.61%
- MS Egyptair – 78.45%
- RJ Royal Jordanian – 77.48%
- FZ Flydubai – 73.78%
2012 Year End Report Airport and Airline on Time Performance
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
