- The data firm Cirium said Delta was the most on-time US airline in 2024 despite a huge disruption.
- Cirium said Delta was the third-most-punctual global airline, but United Airlines was on its heels.
- With rates of at least 90%, some foreign carriers achieved a better on-time performance than Delta.
Despite a chaotic CrowdStrike outage that forced it to cancel some 7,000 flights over five days this summer, Delta Air Lines retained its title as the US's most on-time airline in 2024, the data provider Cirium said on Thursday.
In its annual analysis of airline punctuality, Cirium said Delta, with on-time performance of 83.5%, was the third-most on-time global airline in 2024, behind Aeromexico and Saudia, which had rates of 86.7% and 86.4%. Delta also won Cirium's "Platinum Award" for operational excellence for the fourth consecutive year.
To be "on time," a flight must arrive within 14 minutes and 59 seconds of its scheduled arrival time.
Delta's 2024 on-time performance was down from 84.7% in 2023. The summer disruptions cost Delta hundreds of millions of dollars.
"That is a phenomenal number," Cirium's chief marketing officer, Mike Malik, told reporters, adding that such a high punctuality rate was an "incredible feat" for Delta, which operates 1.6 million flights a year.
The award considers factors like network and hub complexity to determine how difficult it is for an airline to operate.
Where US airlines stand in on-time performance
In North America, United Airlines was on Delta's heels with an on-time rate of 80.9%, up by about 1 percentage point from 2023. It jumped from fourth place in North America in 2023 and ranked 10th globally in 2024.
Alaska Airlines dropped to third place in North America with a 79.3% on-time rate. Its 2023 punctuality rate was 82.3%.
American Airlines' on-time performance fell to 77.8% in 2024 from 80.6% in 2023. Because of a technical issue, the carrier experienced a brief ground stop on Christmas Eve, delaying flights during one of the year's busiest travel days.
Southwest Airlines increased its on-time performance to 77.8% from 76.3% in 2023, finishing right behind American.
The industry data provider OAG says a rate of about 80% is generally "pretty good," while rates above 90% are excellent — it says those airlines "remain the exception rather than the rule."
How foreign carriers compare to US airlines
The top-performing European airlines were the Spanish low-cost airline Iberia Express, at 84.7%; its parent airline, Iberia, at 81.6%; and Scandinavian Airlines, at 81.4%.
In Asia, Japan Airlines came in first, at 80.9%. Japan's All Nippon Airways and Singapore Airlines followed, at 80.6% and 78.7%.
In Latin America, Panama's Copa Airlines beat the global winner, Aeromexico, with an 88.2% on-time rate. It was Copa's 10th year in the top spot.
Malik said Copa didn't win globally because it didn't have a big enough international presence to quality as a "global" airline.
Aeromexico was second, while Caribbean Airlines, jointly state-owned by Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, was third, at 85.5%.
In the Middle East and Africa, the South African low-cost carrier Safair took first place, at 93.8% — achieving the highest on-time rate worldwide. Oman Air came in second, with a punctuality rate of 90.3%, and Royal Jordanian Airlines was third, at 87%.
The three Middle Eastern and African airlines achieved a higher punctuality rate than any global carrier, including Delta. Still, none qualified as "global."
Safair, for example, has a simpler, more regional operation, with few overwater routes.
Royal Jordanian is the only one that competes in the US; it's part of the Oneworld Alliance with American and Alaska. Oman is expected to join Oneworld soon.