Achieving a high level of on-time performance (OTP) is a complex task and depends on many factors, not least the time of year. This is why annual OTP reviews often lack context and may not reflect the broader dynamics at play. A strong performance in one part of the year might be overshadowed by challenges in another, leading to an oversimplified assessment.
January has always been one of the more challenging months for on-time performance (OTP) as weather events around the Northern Hemisphere impact operational performance. Despite those challenges, four airlines delivered 90% plus OTP rates in January:
Safair reported a 94.2% performance level giving them a clear advantage over second-placed Star Flyer who finished the month with a 92.6% OTP rate and recorded no cancellations.
In the large airline category (more than 20,000 flights a month) Hainan Airlines achieved the highest OTP rate in January with 86.4% of flights on time, slightly ahead of LATAM (83.6%) which operated nearly twice as many flights as Hainan. With such large operations, some cancellations inevitably occur in every airline. However, IndiGo recorded a near-perfect month with just one cancellation reported across their 69,012 flights tracked.
Amongst the big airline category (between 10,000 to 20,000 scheduled flights a month) three European airlines recorded zero cancellations:
- ITA Airways
- Iberia
- Pegasus Airlines
ITA Airways also ranked as the third most punctual airline in the category with an OTP rate of 88.7%. At the other end of the spectrum Frontier Airlines cancelled 347 flights, a 2.1% rate. Other airlines with a high number of cancellations included Swiss with 205 flights cancelled, Air New Zealand (212) and Westjet with 339.
Proving that small (between 1,500 and 4,000 scheduled flights) can be beautiful, four of January’s top ten OTP performers fall into the small airline category with three of the category’s top five based in Japan. Star Flyer at 92.6% were top of the category followed by Fuji Dreams with Solaseed in fourth spot. Royal Jordanian with an OTP rate of 88.4% breaking up the Japanese dominance by taking third spot. However, being small can also (on occasion) lead to larger operational challenges as Intercaribbean Airways can confirm, January saw the airline cancel 219 flights, equivalent to an 11.6% cancellation rate.
