A flight delayed for hours is, for many passengers, a reason to not fly with a given airline in the future.
Across the industry, a flight is considered on-time if it arrives less than 15 minutes within its scheduled time and, in 2024, the airline that did this most consistently is Mexico City’s Aeromexico (GRPAQ) .
The Mexico City-based carrier once again led the board at the On-Time Performance Review that aviation analytics company Cirium just released for the year.
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A business traveler wanders through an airport with suitcase in tow.
TheStreet
These airlines are almost always on time to their destinations
Looking at numbers for all of 2024, 86.7% of flights on Mexico’s flagship airline arrived to their destination on time. This is the highest number both within North America and globally.
Worldwide, Saudi Arabia’s Saudia Airlines was close behind in second with 86.35% while Delta Air Lines (DAL) was third globally and first in the United States with an 83.46% punctuality rate.
“2024 was a difficult year for airlines, facing a large-scale IT outage, and unseasonable and severe weather patterns,” Cirium CEO Jeremy Bowen said in a statement. “Despite these challenges, these airlines and airports have worked tirelessly to ensure their customers have a smooth journey and reach their destination on-time.”
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With an 80.93% punctuality rate, United Airlines (UAL) was the second most-punctual airline in the United States, but only tenth globally. It was also the only other American or Canadian airline to land in the top 10.
This year, that space was dominated by Latin American carriers — Chile’s LATAM Airlines (LTMAQ) , Brazil’s Azul Airlines (AZUL) and Colombia’s Avianca (AVHOQ) all landed in the top 10 alongside Qatar Airways and Spain’s Iberia.
This is why so many Latin American airlines dominated the industry this year
El Dorado International Airport (BOG) in Bogotá, Colombia was also recognized with Cirium’s brand-new Platinum Award for airport quality or, in other words, how pleasantly travelers were able to spend their time among its terminals during a delay.
According to Cirium, the award considers a “broader range of factors including the impact of delays on passengers, the duration of disruptions, operational complexity, and the airport’s appeal, with a particular focus on growth.”
This marks the 16th year that Cirium has been releasing its annual on-time review on top of monthly performance reports. In November 2024, Saudia was the leader globally, while Delta landed in second place.
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Along with Aeromexico, the three airlines periodically push each other for first, second and third place month to month.
In North America, Alaska Airlines (ALK) and American Airlines (AAL) also landed in the top five with respective on-time rates of 79.25% and 77.78% this year, while Japan Airlines (JPNRF) and All Nippon Airways were the front-runners in Asia.
“A special recognition goes to Delta Air Lines for continuing their outstanding winning streak with Cirium’s Platinum Award for airlines, Copa Airlines for achieving its 10th title as Latin America’s most On-Time airline, Iberia Express for its consistent performance as Europe’s most On-Time airline, and Bogotá El Dorado Airport for securing Cirium’s first-ever Platinum Award for an airport,” Bowen said further.
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