July Data Shows Improved Airline On-Time Performance

According to recent Cirium research, after average North American airline on-time performance fell by more than 5 %age points from May to 65.7 % in June, monitored airlines improved to an on-time arrival average of 66.8 % in July.

After labor and meteorological interruptions caused much of the mayhem recorded early in the summer season, several monitored carriers shortened their scheduling, and the reductions appear to have had the desired impact. Except Southwest Airlines, which fell to 68.7 %, and Air Canada, which fell to 34.8 %, eight of the ten carriers covered in the survey improved their performance in July.

For the second month in a row, Alaska Airlines (82.2 %), Delta Air Lines (79.6 %), and United Airlines (77.7 %) held the top three places. Delta and United were the only North American carriers to make the top-10 list for on-time performance, placing sixth and ninth, respectively. The number of flights completed increased by 21.5 % year over year, according to the data.

Cirium North America looked at carriers in the top 20% in terms of flight frequency, total seats, and available seat kilometers. If the aircraft reaches the gate within 15 minutes of the planned arrival time, the flight is deemed on time.