Europe:
- Austrian Airlines was named Europe’s most punctual carrier last month, with 88.62% of flights arriving on-time
- LOT Polish Airlines landed second position, with over 88.32% of all flights arriving on-time
- ITA Airways, Finnair and Iberia also made the top five, offering customers punctual service on over 80% of flights
- No UK airline featured in the top 10 of most punctual European carriers.
Globally:
- Globally, the Brazilian airline Azul was named the most punctual airline in March, with 89.87% of flights arriving at their destination on-time
- The second spot was highly contested, with the Japanese airline ANA securing an 87.24% punctuality score, just head of rival Japan Airlines who took third place with 86.13%
- The South American carriers of Avianca and LATAM Airlines took fourth and fifth spot, with 85.94% and 85.71% respectively.
Cancellations:
- The number of cancelled flights within Europe rose 65% in March 2023 compared to the previous month
- In March 2023, 14,405 flights were cancelled within Europe, up from 8,713 in February 2023
- The number of cancellations rose in every global region in March, expect North America, where they fell 16% month-on-month.
Global: Azul (AD) is the new leader in the Global Airlines category. Azul takes the leadership position from KLM (KL) this month with an OTP of 89.87%. This is also more than a 4pt improvement from their performance last month (84.37%). ANA (NH) follows Azul with an OTP of 87.24%, also showing a 5pt improvement from last month (82.30%).
APAC: IndiGo (6E) is the new leader in the APAC region. IndiGo takes the lead position with an OTP of 89.02% from Thai AirAsia (FD) who had led the pack for two consecutive months. Vietnam Airlines (VN) makes a remarkable improvement to their OTP performance this month (85.00%) over last month (78.42%) to make their debut in the top 5 ranking at #4.
North America: With an OTP of 80.93%, Delta Air Lines (DL) continues to lead the North America region. This is a slight decline from its performance last month (84.82%). Alaska (AS) follows Delta closely at #2, with an OTP of 79.57%. The North American airlines experienced a decline in performance because of the Spring break holiday traffic and with the series of bad weather systems. This is evident in the OTP performance of the top 5 performers this month
Europe: Austrian Airlines (OS) is once again the leader in the Europe region with an OTP of 88.66%. This is a decline from their last month’s performance (91.09%). LOT Polish (LO) follows Austrian closely with an OTP of 88.32%; an improvement from their previous month’s performance (85.62%).
Latin America: For three consecutive months, Copa Airlines (CM) is the leader in the Latin America region. With an OTP of 92.14%, the Panama-based airline maintains its lead in the region. Azul (AD) follows Copa at #2 with an OTP of 89.87%. This is more than a 5pt improvement in their last month performance (84.37%).
Middle East and Africa: Oman Air (WY) takes the lead back from Safair (FA) this month with an OTP of 94.98%. Safair however follows Oman Air closely at #2 with an OTP of 93.68%; a slight decline from their performance last month (94.89%).
Low-Cost Carrier: Safair (FA) maintains its lead in the Low-Cost category this month with an OTP of 93.68%; a slight decline from their performance last month (94.89%). StarFlyer (7G) follows Safair at #2 with an OTP of 92.28%; although a small reduction from their performance last month (92.85%).
Report Calculation New Airline Categorisation 2023
Mainline vs. Network
We have received a great deal of feedback over the last few years about how to make fair operational comparisons between airlines in the various categories. Cirium’s aim is to provide the airline industry with a neutral, trustworthy, third-party perspective on on-time performance data. As such, we consulted with our advisory board and have taken advantage of their many years of experience in leading and analysing the aviation industry to ensure accuracy and proper representation of the information we present. Some of the input received includes the following: • Confusion around the distinction between the Network and Mainline categories.
• Networks that include flights operated by subsidiaries and wetlease contractors are relatively rare outside of the U.S, Japan and parts of Europe.
• On-time performance as the primary measure of operational excellence has some limitations – it doesn’t take cancellations and other factors impacting customer satisfaction into account (OTP only measures the performance of completed flights). The numbers may be slightly manipulated by airlines with schedule padding to get a more favorable result.
As a result of the feedback and guidance we received, we have made some adjustments to the ways in which we report airline operational performance.
Elimination of Network and Mainline categories
We have eliminated the network and mainline OTP categories. We now report OTP figures inclusive of all flights operated under a carrier’s brand (mainline, wetlease, subsidiaries). We look forward to your continued feedback and constructive suggestions on how best to rate and compare airlines and reward those who show a deep and abiding commitment to customer service excellence.
