If the latest round of airline delays over the holiday season has you feeling anxious about your next flight, the 2024 annual on-time performance list from Cirium, published on Jan. 2, may help.
The aviation analytics firm analyzes more than 25 million data points from 600-plus sources each day to determine whether airlines are meeting their scheduled arrival times. A flight is considered punctual if it arrives within 14 minutes and 59 seconds of its scheduled landing time. Only air carriers that exceed a threshold of operational size and regional diversity are eligible for the global rankings.
After conducting a review of how its data added up over the course of 2024, Cirium’s most on-time airline in 2024—with 86.7% of flights arriving on time—is Aeromexico.
For the Mexico City-based carrier, that number represents a 9% improvement from the year prior: “an astronomical rise,” as Cirium put it during a press conference.
The accolade caps off a turnaround story that started in 2022 when Grupo Aeromexico SAB de CV emerged from bankruptcy. In the two years since, it’s “relentlessly” invested in technological upgrades to improve on-time records and increased profits, says Mike Malik, chief marketing officer at Cirium. Amid all the momentum, Aeromexico filed for an initial public offering in the US in May 2024, seeking to raise as much as $500 million.
Following in second place in Cirium’s list is Jeddah-based Saudi Arabian Airlines (better known as Saudia), with an 86.35% on-time performance. Delta Air Lines Inc. came in third place, at 83.46%, in spite of the CrowdStrike software malfunction that led to a global ground stop in July. The airline was slower to recover than its competitors, canceling approximately 7,000 flights over subsequent days.
“The on-time performance numbers are measured over 365 days, not the five days where a specific carrier had an issue,” says Malik, adding that Delta’s on-time performance reached 91% in August.
In general, the news is good for US-based flyers, with carriers’ performance largely either improving or staying flat. After Delta, United AirlinesHoldings Inc. ranks second among domestic airlines and tenth overall, with 80.93% of its flights arriving on time. Cirium data show United continues to improve its punctuality at a rate of 1% to 2% per year, introducing the possibility that it could eclipse Delta in the years to come.
Alaska Airlines was the rare US airline that saw a decline in its figures. Its on-time arrivals dropped 3 percentage points, to 79.25%, lowering its year-end ranking from second place to third. Southwest Airlines Co. landed in fourth, overcoming challenges that it faced in 2023 with an on-time arrival rate of 77.77%. American Airlines Group Inc. stayed almost flat in its on-time performance, according to Cirium, and ranked fourth.For the many travelers heading to Asia in 2025, these are the most punctual airlines: Japan Airlines Co., All Nippon Airways and Singapore Airlines, in descending order. In Europe, Madrid-based Iberia Express and its big sibling Iberia took first and second place, respectively.
Avianca, which filed for bankruptcy in 2020, similar to Aeromexico, also ranked within the top 10, making 2024 a year of big comebacks for many airlines.
Here’s how the best in the world shook out according to Cirium’s list.
Top 10 Most Punctual Global Airlines
1. Aeromexico: 86.70% on-time arrivals
2. Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia): 86.35%
3. Delta Air Lines: 83.46%
4. LATAM Airlines: 82.89%
5. Qatar Airways: 82.83%
6. Azul Airlines: 82.42%
7. Avianca: 81.80%
8. Iberia: 81.58%
9. Scandinavian Airlines: 81.4%
10. United Airlines: 80.93%
(Corrects IPO amount in fifth paragraph. Adds detail about Avianca bankruptcy in 2020.)
