Key Findings:

• Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines and American Airlines rank among the Top 10 most on-time Mega Airlines in the world.
• Spirit Airlines is the most punctual low-cost-carrier (LCC) in North America.
• Nine U.S. airports rank among the Top 10 Mega Airports globally, including Los Angeles International, Dallas Fort Worth International, Chicago O’Hare International and Charlotte Douglas International.

OAG has revealed the most punctual airlines and airports in North America as part of its Punctuality League 2023. Delta finished 2022 as the most punctual airline in the U.S. with an on-time performance (OTP) of 81.79% and an extremely low cancellation rate of just 0.01%. Alaska Airlines (#2; OTP 79.13%), United Airlines (#3; OTP 79.10%), American Airlines (#4; OTP 77.38%) and Hawaiian Airlines (#5; OTP 75.80%) rounded out the Top 5 most on-time airlines in North America.

U.S. carriers showed strong performance among Mega Airlines and low-cost carriers (LCCs) despite winter weather disruptions over the Christmas holiday, including Southwest which cancelled 16,873 flights alone in December. Globally, seven U.S. carriers ranked among the Top 20 Mega Airlines (defined by the number of flights operated) in the world. Delta ranked #6, followed by Alaska (#7), United (#8) American (#9) and Spirit Airlines (#10; OTP 73.18%). Among the Top 20 low-cost carriers (LCCs) in the world, Spirit ranked #13, followed by Southwest (#14; OTP 71.61%) and Frontier Airlines (#18; OTP 66.18%), with JetBlue (OTP 63.90%) finishing just outside the Top 20 at #21.


U.S. airports dominated OAG’s Mega Airports category, with 14 ranking among the Top 20 globally. These include Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International (#2; OTP 80.08%), Seattle-Tacoma International (#3; OTP 79.98%), Houston George Bush Intercontinental (#4; OTP 79.72%), Charlotte Douglas International (#5; OTP 79.59%), Los Angeles International (#6; OTP 78.63%), Chicago O’Hare International (#7; OTP 77.86%), Phoenix Sky Harbor International (#8; OTP 76.80%), Dallas Fort Worth International (#9; OTP 76.15%) and Miami International (#10; OTP 73.97%), among others.


Salt Lake City International (#1; OTP 83.59%) is the most punctual airport in the U.S. overall, followed by Boise Airport (#2; OTP 82.92%) and Fresno Yosemite International (#3; OTP 81.58%).


“Strong performance by U.S. Mega Airlines and Mega Airports reflects the competitive nature of the rapidly-recovering U.S. domestic market in 2022,” said John Grant, chief analyst at OAG. “Despite a tough end to the year, overall on-time performance is improving across the board as carriers provided slightly less frequency to ease operational pressures and delays. This in turn allows many carriers to deliver OTP levels last seen in the pre-pandemic era, if not better.”

Criteria

• OAG defines on-time performance (OTP) as flights that arrive or depart within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival or departure times. Cancellations are included within the OTP calculations and are counted as late flights. To qualify for inclusion, OAG must have flight status data for at least 80% of all scheduled flights operated by the airline or airport.
• Airlines ranked in the 250 largest global airlines are analyzed. Airline OTP is calculated based on arrivals data only. OTP calculations are based on operating carrier code and are restricted to scheduled passenger flights only. All scheduled flights operated by affiliate carriers on behalf of another carrier are included in the analysis. Flights where OAG does not have the required arrival time, or confirmation that the flight was diverted or cancelled, are not included in the OTP calculations for airlines.
• Airports must have a minimum of 2.5M departing seats. Airport OTP calculations are restricted to scheduled passenger flights only and are calculated based on both departures and arrivals data. Flights where OAG does not have the required departure and arrival time, or confirmation that the flight was diverted or cancelled, are not included in the OTP calculations for airports.