In the cutthroat airline industry, few things can boost a company’s reputation more than getting passengers to their destinations on time.
Now, Mexico’s largest airline, Aeromexico, can boast that last year it was the best in the world when it comes to timeliness, according to the results of an annual study by aviation analytics firm Cirium. Among domestic U.S. carriers, Delta Air Lines took the top prize.
Cirium’s annual report tracked millions of flights and evaluated airlines’ and airports’ operational efficiency and rates of on-time arrivals and departures. The report named Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh King Khalid International Airport the most on-time hub of the year and awarded Delta first place for overall operational excellence.
Cirium’s rankings are based on data from more than 600 sources of real-time flight information, according to the report.
“In 2024, the aviation industry demonstrated incredible resilience and adaptability, overcoming challenges ranging from cybersecurity disruptions to weather anomalies,” said Cirium Chief Executive Jeremy Bowen in a statement. “Despite these hurdles, airlines and airports continued to prioritize operational excellence.”
More than 86% of Aeromexico flights arrived on time last year, which is defined as an arrival within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. Eighty-seven percent of Aeromexico flights departed on time. Saudia, formerly Saudi Arabia Airlines, placed second behind Aeromexico among international carriers.
Among U.S. airlines, United took second place behind Delta for on-time arrivals and Alaska Airlines took third. Around 83% of Delta flights arrived on time, while United and Alaska had on-time arrival rates of 80% and 79% respectively.
The list of the top 10 most on-time global airlines was dominated by carriers outside of the U.S., including Qatar Airways and Spanish airline Iberia. North American airlines faced challenges in 2024 stemming from a shortage of air-traffic controllers, according to aviation consultant Scott McCartney. The Federal Aviation Administration was down about 3,000 controllers nationwide and cut flight schedules throughout the year, he said in Cirium’s report.
U.S. airlines still posted an overall on-time arrival rate of 76% in 2024, up from 74% in 2023. American, Southwest and Spirit were also among the most on-time North American carriers.
JetBlue Airways took seventh place among U.S. airlines with just over 74% of flights arriving on time, but was recently fined by the Department of Transportation for chronically delayed flights and unrealistic scheduling. In the first-of-its-kind fine, JetBlue will have to pay $2 million, half of which will go to customers affected by delays.
The Department of Transportation said it is conducting investigations into other airlines with misleading schedules that do not reflect realistic departure and arrival times. According to the department, a flight is chronically delayed if it is flown at least 10 times a month and arrives more than 30 minutes late more than 50% of the time. Frontier Airlines, Air Canada and WestJet all had lower on-time arrival rates than JetBlue, according to Cirium.
Four American airports made the top-10 list of most on-time hubs, including Salt Lake City International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport. Cirium has been tracking the timeliness of airports and airlines for 16 years.