Being delayed is one of the many things people absolutely hate about airports. Every traveler shudders at the thought of their flight getting stuck on the ground due to weather (at its departure airport, arrival airport, or any of the airports where the plane recently touched down), mechanical problems, or computer errors. While airlines grow profits on the backs of fees and planes rushed to market, travelers have begun to view them as less reliable than city buses.
Every year, global travel data provider OAG releases an annual ranking of airlines with the best and worst on-time performance — which they call OTP. They also designate certain airlines “Punctuality League” members (exactly what it sounds like). OAG’s most recent data covers June of 2018 to May of 2019, giving us a pretty good handle on what the best and worst airlines are in terms of on-time flight performance.
For your convenience, we’ve filtered out OAG’s data that applies to carriers operating mostly outside of the U.S. and collected the best and worst major American carriers for on-time flight performance. To find out how the rest of the world stacks up, check OAG’s full ranking.
The Most On-Time US Carriers
5. Cape Air — 79.9% of 10,192 flights arrive/depart on time.
4. Spirit Airlines — 80.4% of 17,203 flights arrive/depart on time.
3. Alaska Airlines — 80.7% of 38,083 flights arrive/depart on time.
2. Delta Airlines — 83.4% of 160,423 flights arrive/depart on time.
1. Hawaiian Airlines — 87.8% of 8,321 flights arrive/depart on time.
The Least On-Time US Carriers
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8. Southwest Airlines — 78.3% of 116,67 flights arrive/depart on time.
7. Allegiant Air LLC — 78.0% of 8,278 flights arrive/depart on time.
6. United Airlines — 76.9% of 147,427 flights arrive/depart on time.
5. American Airlines — 76.9% of 193,370 flights arrive/depart on time.
4. Jet Blue Airways Corporation — 73.5% of 31,249 flights arrive/depart on time.
3. Frontier Airlines — 69.4% of 10,613 flights arrive/depart on time.
2. Silver Airways LLC — 68.5% of 2,373 flights arrive/depart on time.
1. Sun Country Airlines — 68.1% of 1,735 flights arrive/depart on time.
What About Flight Cancellations?
Delays are one thing, but flight cancellations are a whole other bag. In terms of which airports are the worst offenders, we’ll turn to recent data collected by InsureMyTrip Research, which used statistics from 2018 flights from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics to figure out which airports are currently the most prone to flight cancellations for domestic flights.
According to InsureMyTrip, LaGuardia Airport in New York has the highest percentage of canceled flights for the second year in a row, with Salt Lake City, Utah having the least.
Domestic Airports Most Prone To Flight Cancellations
10. Raleigh-Durham International (RDU), North Carolina
9. Richmond International (RIC), Virginia
8. Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA), Washington D.C.
7.Theodore Francis Green (PVD), Rhode Island
6. Newark Liberty International (EWR), New Jersey
5. Philadelphia International (PHL), Pennsylvania
4. Greater Rochester International (ROC) New York
3. Charleston AFB/International (CHS), South Carolina
2. Norfolk International (ORF), Virginia
1. LaGuardia (LGA), New York
Domestic Airports Least Prone To Flight Cancellations
10. Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX), Phoenix, Arizona
9. McCarran International (LAS), Las Vegas, Nevada
8. John Wayne Airport-Orange County (SNA), Santa Ana, California
7. Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA), Seattle, Washington
6. Reno/Tahoe International (RNO), Reno, Nevada
5. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), Atlanta, Georgia
4. Portland International (PDX), Portland, Oregon
3. Sacramento International (SMF), Sacramento, California
2. Kahului Airport (OGG), Kahului, Hawaii
1. Boise Air Terminal (BOI), Boise, Idaho
1. Salt Lake City International (SLC), Salt Lake City, Utah
