Airline On-Time Performance: Delta leads in the U.S.
Delta Air Lines was the most on-time at 82.14% of its arrivals in 2022. Allegiant Air came in last with 63.39%. The U.S. major airlines Delta, Alaska, American and United lead the list with 77% or better, while the low-cost carriers Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Allegiant Air all dropped below 70%.
The Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report list of airlines’ on-time performance was published Thursday Mar. 16. Every airline had a worse on-time performance rate in 2022 compared to 2021.
Travel data provider Official Aviation Guide said Delta’s was a “pretty good” score in the airline industry, explaining “that’s 4 in 5 flights arriving within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time.”
Carriers that achieve a 90% or higher rate for the year are considered “the exception rather than the rule,” OAG said, noting some airlines that operate in more highly congested airports and airspace have greater difficulty in even maintaining 80%.
Delta was the only carrier to break 80% in 2022. Alaska Airlines came in second at about 79% after winter storms battered the Northwest in December.
Southwest Airlines found itself in the middle of the pack for 2022 despite its winter meltdown that saw more than 16,000 flights canceled in just a few days.
Based on the DOT data, every airline performed worse in 2022 compared to 2021. Hawaiian Airlines had the biggest drop, going from 90% in 2021 to 75% last year.
Take a closer look at the best and worst airlines for on-time performance for 2022:
10. Allegiant Air
Rate: 63.39%
Rate in 2021: 68.26%
9. JetBlue Airways
Rate: 64.63%
Rate in 2021: 72.31%
8. Frontier Airlines
Rate: 66.10%
Rate in 2021: 76.64%
7. Spirit Airlines
Rate: 72.96%
Rate in 2021: 76.74%
6. Southwest Airlines
Rate: 73.18%
Rate in 2021: 75.78%
5. Hawaiian Airlines
Rate: 75.77%
Rate in 2021: 90.14%
4. American Airlines
Rate: 77.15%
Rate in 2021: 81.58%
3. United Airlines
Rate: 78.74%
Rate in 2021: 79.81%
2. Alaska Airlines
Rate: 79.06%
Rate in 2021: 83.17%
1. Delta Air Lines
Rate: 82.14%
Rate in 2021: 88.22%
The results are likely due, in part, to soaring demand and the pilot shortage that contributed to last year’s holiday disruptions. Each airline also operated more flights in 2022 compared to 2021 to accommodate the post-pandemic desire to travel.
“It’s easy to forget how dramatically airlines had to reduce capacity to weather the early part of the pandemic,” Boston Consulting Group Managing Director Adam Gordon told Insider’s Hannah Towey in August. “Ramping the operation back up is no small feat and the operational challenges we’ve seen recently are mostly a result of this complexity rather than planning or execution failures on the part of the airlines.”