Asia Pacific airlines and airports dominate Cirium’s review of on-time performance 2019

Russia’s Aeroflot has been named as the world’s most on-time mainline airline in the annual On-Time Performance (OTP) Review released today by travel data and analytics expert Cirium.

The OTP Review identifies the world’s best performing airlines and airports for on-time flight operations in 2019.

According to the long-running analysis by Cirium, which provides the definitive ranking of the top ten most on-time airlines and airports globally, by size and region, 86.7 per cent of Aeroflot’s flights operated on time in 2019.

Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) came in second place with 86.3 per cent of its flights on time and also took the top spot as the most punctual Asia Pacific mainline and network* airline.

Last year’s winner, Delta Air Lines, took third place in the global category with 85.7 per cent of flights arriving on-time but topped the ranking in the North America category in both mainline and network.

Asia Pacific airlines bag a total of three spots in the top ten global mainline airline category with a further two airlines, Japan Airlines (JAL) (who came in at fifth place) and Korean Air (who ranked ninth) beating other major global airlines as the most on-time.

Meanwhile, Latin American airline LATAM clinches top ranking of the global network airline category with 86.7 per cent of the flights in its network arriving on time, followed by ANA and Delta Air Lines.

The 2019 Review also reveals that in the Asia Pacific region, ANA takes the top spot in both mainline and network airline categories and Singapore Airlines achieves second place in the mainline airline category, followed by Thai AirAsia, JAL and Korean Air.

Singapore Airlines is also named as the second most on time in the Asia Pacific network airline category, followed by JAL, Thai AirAsia and Air New Zealand.

Aeroflot is named the most punctual airline in Europe, Copa Airlines is most on-time in Latin America, and in the Middle East and Africa, Qatar Airways beats Emirates to top ranking.

The top three spots of the world’s most punctual low cost carrier are taken by Japanese airlines with StarFlyer taking the top spot with 91.4 per cent of flights arriving on-schedule**, followed by Air Do and Solaseed Air.

Cirium’s OTP Review also identifies the world’s most punctual airport, with Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) operating the most on-schedule departing flights, with 95 per cent being on time.

As the world’s leading authority on airline on-time performance, aviation and travel data analytics expert Cirium has now published its annual review for 11 consecutive years.

It is designed to raise the benchmark by encouraging airlines and airports to invest, ensuring they operate on-time and provide their customers with a best-in-class travel experience, both in the air and on the ground.

Jeremy Bowen, Cirium CEO, said: “We apply the highest level of data analysis to form our On-Time Performance Review and we’re delighted to announce that Aeroflot surpassed other leading airlines as the world’s most on-time mainline airline.

“Looking at the Russian carrier’s past year it’s clear that as Aeroflot has more controls in place over their environment than most that helps drive enormously drive operational efficiency. Russia’s successful year continues with Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport also winning the top spot as the most punctual airport.

“Airlines and airports which consistently operate on-time and go that extra mile for their customers deserve to be recognised in an increasingly competitive environment and should be justifiably proud of reaching such a world-class industry standard.”

Jeremy Bowen added: “Achieving world-class customer satisfaction and industry-leading product differentiation is about more than just competitively priced tickets and flight availability. When choosing who to fly with, savvy travelers also now consider airline punctuality and operational reliability.

“We believe Cirium’s On-Time Performance Review 2019 will inspire airlines and airports to continue innovating to improve their performance. By embracing digital transformation and leveraging data to its full potential, Cirium can help the aviation industry harness its power to improve on-time performance and enhance the passenger experience.”

Rahul Oberai, Managing Director, APAC said: “The dominance of the Asia Pacific airlines in our annual On-Time Performance Review demonstrates that the centre of gravity in the aviation industry is shifting eastwards. Congratulations to the airlines for their 2019 performance.”

The Cirium OTP review draws on over a decade of experience reporting on the punctuality of airlines and airports. Cirium has tracked, analyzed and recognized the hard work of carriers and hubs which deliver on their promise to fly customers to their destinations on time.

Cirium’s 600 unrivalled data sources, including almost every airline around the world, means it tracks over a staggering 100,000 flights a day and bases its analysis on an 80 per cent coverage requirement for each category. According to Cirium, an airline’s flight is on-time if the aircraft arrives at the gate under 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time. Airport on-time performance is measured by on-time departing flights.

Using its advanced technology, Cirium’s dedicated team of expert data analysts process 15 million updates a day – 18 times more than the industry average – to ensure the most accurate results with multi-source verification.

This data enables Cirium’s analysts to provide powerful and meaningful insights for every sector of the aviation industry to ensure customers are at the heart of everything they do.

The awards are grouped by Cirium into three areas including Global Airlines, Major Airlines by Region and Low Cost Carriers, and there are strict criteria – for example for the Global Airline category Cirium considers the top 10 per cent of all airlines by size.

Cirium has created a new, prestigious board of elite industry professionals to provide an independent view of the analysis of on-time performance.

Jeremy Bowen commented: “Cirium’s data is used widely by airlines, airports as well as varying companies involved in travel and we are considered as the pre-eminent leaders in this space. For this reason, we are the only company that are transparent and have a board for independent oversight in this area.

The initial members of Cirium’s on-time performance board include: Luis Felipe de Oliveira, Executive Director and CEO at ALTA (The Latin American & Caribbean Air Transport Association); Henry H. Harteveldt, President at Atmosphere Research Group; and Dr. Mario Hardy, CEO of PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association. New members will be joining in 2020.

To view Cirium’s On-Time Performance Review 2019, please click here. (or please see attachment)