WestJet tops North America in Cirium’s May on-time rankings

WestJet was the most on-time airline in North America in May, according to the latest monthly report from aviation analytics company Cirium.

The Calgary-based carrier ranked first in the region with 85.88 per cent of flights arriving on time. 

WestJet also ranked seventh globally in May.

Air Canada ranked seventh in North America, with 78.65 per cent of flights arriving on time. 

The airline recorded 33,655 total flights in May, according to Cirium.

Delta Air Lines ranked second in North America with an on-time arrival rate of 82.70 per cent, followed by Alaska Airlines at 82.30 per cent, JetBlue at 82.01 per cent and United Airlines at 80.44 per cent.

Globally, Saudia ranked first for on-time performance in May, with 90.12 per cent of flights arriving on time. 

Qatar Airways ranked second at 89.56 per cent, followed by SAS at 87.73 per cent, Singapore Airlines at 87.71 per cent and Hainan Airlines at 87.64 per cent.

Cirium’s report also ranked airports by on-time departure performance. 

Calgary International Airport placed ninth among medium airports, with 87.12 per cent of flights departing on time.

In the global airport rankings, Harbin Taiping International Airport in China ranked first among large airports, Changchun Longjia International Airport ranked first among medium airports and Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont Airport ranked first among small airports.

Cirium defines on-time arrival as a completed flight that arrives at the gate within 15 minutes of its scheduled arrival time. 

For airports, on-time departure is defined as departing from the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time.

The report also noted that North America and Asia Pacific remained key pressure points for flight cancellations in May, with cancelled flights increasing by up to 34 per cent. 

Europe saw cancelled flights drop by 50 per cent compared to April.

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