Cirium, a company that provides aviation data and insights, regularly publishes a report on the on-time performance (OTP) of airlines worldwide. In this report, they define “on-time” as flights that arrive at the gate within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time. They calculate the percentage of completed flights that meet this criterion as a measure of an airline’s punctuality.

Global Rankings

Avianca from Colombia secured the top spot as the most punctual airline in the world in June, boasting an impressive punctuality rate of 86.61%. Close behind were LATAM Airlines from Chile with an 86.54% rate and Qatar Airways with an 85% punctuality rate.

Regional Highlights

In North America, Alaska Airlines achieved an 80.33% punctuality rate, while in the Asia-Pacific region, All Nippon Airways from Japan stood out as the most punctual airline with an 84.29% punctuality rate. In South America, Copa Airlines from Panama excelled with an impressive 89.46% punctuality rate. Finally, in the Middle East and Africa, Oman Air claimed the top spot with a remarkable punctuality rate of 93.57%.

Europe Rankings

In June, the Polish national carrier, LOT, achieved an impressive punctuality rate of 82.72% after successfully completing 8,582 flights. Meanwhile, Norwegian Air Shuttle, recorded an 82.02% punctuality rate with a total of 7,602 operations. Iberia maintained its position in third place with a punctuality rate of 80.89% and a total of 13,774 flights.

Concerns about the actual punctuality

However, one notable concern that the report highlights is the practice of airlines padding their scheduled flight times. Padding involves adding extra time to the actual flight duration in order to reduce the likelihood of delays and improve the airline’s on-time performance statistics. By doing so, airlines can present a better image of their punctuality even if the actual flight times are longer than necessary.

This practice of padding flight schedules can impact the accuracy of the on-time performance data, as it may not reflect the true efficiency of an airline’s operations. While a carrier may appear punctual based on the reported figures, passengers may still experience longer flights than necessary due to the additional time built into the schedule.

Despite this potential manipulation of data, the on-time performance report from Cirium remains a valuable tool for evaluating airlines’ punctuality, but it is essential to consider the possibility of padded schedules when interpreting the results. Passengers should be aware that the reported figures might not always reflect the actual time taken for flights and should consider other factors when choosing an airline for their travels.

Tell us about your recent flight experience in the comments! Was it delayed or punctual?