Spirit Airlines and Southwest Airlines outperform several major U.S. carriers in punctuality
Key Findings:
Three airlines in North America earned 4-star ratings for on-time performance (OTP): Delta, Alaska and Spirit.
Southwest, United, American and JetBlue all earned 3-star ratings.
Two of the biggest hubs in North America – Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson (ATL) and Detroit Metro (DTW) – secured 4-star ratings.
Several airports across North America earned 3-star ratings, including New York (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX), Houston (IAH), Denver (DEN) and Charlotte (CLT).
OAG, the world’s leading provider of travel data and insight, has released its annual On-time Performance (OTP) Star Ratings, which accredits the top airlines and airports around the world for superior punctuality performance.
Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines and Spirit Airlines were the only U.S. carriers to earn 4-star ratings, while Hawaiian remained North America’s only 5-star airline. Low-cost carriers (LCCs) Spirit and Southwest performed exceptionally well, especially compared to U.S. majors, earning 4-star and 3-star ratings, respectively. JetBlue, United and American all earned 3-star ratings.
“The strength of Spirit and Southwest’s OTP compared to their mainline counterparts is the result of thoughtful network selections and the strategic use of secondary airports, which provide more opportunity for operational recovery,” said John Grant, senior analyst with OAG. “Delta continues to successfully prioritize OTP and separate itself from its two biggest competitors in North America.”
OAG’s annual rating system recognizes exceptional OTP across all airports and airlines regardless of size, geographic location or aviation peer group. The accreditation program showcases the industry’s premier performers, with the top ten percent of airlines and airports receiving five stars. The awards are then distributed based on performance across all airlines and airports, with the poorest performers receiving one star.
Several of the largest hubs in North America achieved notable star ratings. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) and Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) secured four stars, while Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), Charlotte (CLT), Denver (DEN), Seattle (SEA), Phoenix (PHX) and New York (JFK) earned 3-star ratings. Chicago (ORD), Boston (BOS), San Francisco (SFO) and Dallas (DFW) all earned two stars.
Salt Lake City (SLC), Boise (BOI) and Grand Junction (GJT) are the only North American airports located outside of Hawaii to earn 5-star ratings. Hawaii is home to the top three most punctual airports in North America – Hilo (ITO), Lihue (LIH) and Honolulu (HNL) – all with 5-star ratings.
Canada’s biggest carriers, WestJet and Air Canada, secured three and two stars, respectively. Amidst considerable infrastructure expansions and growing capacity, Toronto Pearson International (YYZ) earned one star and Vancouver International Airport (YVR) earned two stars.
The OTP Star Ratings are measured across a rolling 12-month period, this year’s ending May 2019. To achieve an OTP Star Rating, the world’s airlines and airports must meet two simple criteria: all airlines and airports must have a minimum of 1,500 operations a month and OAG must receive flight status information for no less than 80 percent of scheduled flights within the 12-month period.
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