Airline Ranking 2022: What Are The Most Punctual Airlines In The World?

Since the end of the first quarter of 2021, air traffic has been increasing. We’re still nowhere near the volumes of 2019, but IATA expects global passenger numbers to reach 52% of pre-COVID levels.

With the continuous growth of the vaccination rate worldwide, they forecast an 88% recovery for 2022, and numbers higher than pre-COVID for 2023.

Already in 2021, more planes have been able to take to the air again and OAG was able to determine the most punctual airlines of 2021 (Jan-May).

And never forget that with ClaimCompass, you'll always have someone to help you get money back from the airline when your flight is delayed, cancelled, or overbooked.

What are the most punctual airlines in the world in 2021?

1. LATAM Airlines Group
2. Japan Airlines
3. Delta Air Lines
4. Azul Airlines
5. Aeroflot Russian Airlines
6. IndiGo
7. Air New Zealand
8. Alaska Airlines
9. United Airlines
10. American Airlines

As you can see in this airline ranking, 4 US airlines made it into the top 10!

Let’s take a closer look at those airline’s on-time performance.

Airline Ranking 2021: On-Time Performance

LATAM Airlines Group

• February 2021: 95.30% of on-time flights, 1.10% cancellations
• March 2021: 94.40% of on-time flights, 2.80% cancellations
• April 2021: 94.60% of on-time flights, 2.40% cancellations
• May 2021: 92.50% of on-time flights, 2.60% cancellations

LATAM’s performance has been stable throughout the beginning of 2021. With COVID-19 still hitting South America hard, LATAM will likely have to deal with rapidly-changing restrictions.

As of now, however, LATAM is the most punctual airline in the world in 2021.

Was your flight with LATAM delayed or canceled? Get flight compensation from LATAM!

Japan Airlines

• February 2021: 91.00% of on-time flights, 3.70% cancellations
• March 2021: 94.10% of on-time flights, 1.50% cancellations
• April 2021: 95.40% of on-time flights, 0.80% cancellations
• May 2021: 92.60% of on-time flights, 1.60% cancellations

Like LATAM, Japan Airlines have managed to maintain an on-time performance rate of over 90% since the beginning of the year.

Was your flight with Japan Airlines delayed or canceled? Get flight compensation from Japan Airlines!

Delta Air Lines

• February 2021: 87.30% of on-time flights, 2.30% cancellations
• March 2021: 92.80% of on-time flights, 0.20% cancellations
• April 2021: 92.20% of on-time flights, 0.30% cancellations
• May 2021: 91.10% of on-time flights, 0.10% cancellations

Delta is the most punctual US airline in 2021, with over 90% of their flights arriving on-time since the beginning of the year, thereby earning the title of best US airline for this criteria.

Was your flight with Delta Air Lines delayed or canceled? Get Delta flight compensation!

Azul Airlines

• February 2021: 91% of on-time flights, 1% cancellations
• March 2021: 90.80% of on-time flights, 2% cancellations
• April 2021: 92.50% of on-time flights, 2.90% cancellations
• May 2021: 92% of on-time flights, 1.10% cancellations

Aeroflot Russian Airlines

• February 2021: 82.70% of on-time flights, 0.50% cancellations
• March 2021: 92.90% of on-time flights, 0.20% cancellations
• April 2021: 92.50% of on-time flights, 0.50% cancellations
• May 2021: 92% of on-time flights, 0.40% cancellations

The Russian air carrier has managed to keep flight cancellations at a minimum since the beginning of 2021, with less than 1% of their flights canceled every month.

If you’ve had a delay or cancellation with them, you may get up to 600€ in flight compensation from Aeroflot.

IndiGo

• February 2021: 90.50% of on-time flights, 0.20% cancellations
• March 2021: 93.20% of on-time flights, 0.90% cancellations
• April 2021: 89.70% of on-time flights, 4.20% cancellations
• May 2021: 77.30% of on-time flights, 19.60% cancellations

IndiGo would have been even higher on this airline ranking, had it not been for its deteriorating performance. As India struggles with the pandemic, airlines are subject to ever-changing restrictions and forced to alter their schedules.

Claim compensation from IndiGo if your flight was delayed or canceled.

Air New Zealand

• February 2021: 89.30% of on-time flights, 5.10% cancellations
• March 2021: 85.30% of on-time flights, 8.10% cancellations
• April 2021: 85.90% of on-time flights, 3.60% cancellations
• May 2021: 87.60% of on-time flights, 2.20% cancellations

Air New Zealand’s performance has been stable since the beginning of the year, with 85-90% of their flights landing on time. They do have a slightly higher cancellation rate than the other airlines on this ranking, however.

Alaska Airlines

• February 2021: 78.20% of on-time flights, 6% cancellations
• March 2021: 88% of on-time flights, 1.10% cancellations
• April 2021: 90.20% of on-time flights, 0.70% cancellations
• May 2021: 90.10% of on-time flights, 0.40% cancellations

Alaska is the second US airline on this ranking, and a performance that has been improving since the beginning of the year.

Had trouble with your flight? Get compensation from Alaska Airlines now!

United Airlines

• February 2021: 77.10% of on-time flights, 7.80% cancellations
• March 2021: 87.90% of on-time flights, 2.70% cancellations
• April 2021: 90% of on-time flights, 0.30% cancellations
• May 2021: 87.60% of on-time flights, 0.40% cancellations

United Airlines is the third most punctual airline in the US and takes the 9th rank worldwide. The beginning of the year in the US was marked by higher-than-normal rates of cancellations, but things have returned to normal on that front since April.

Get United Airlines flight compensation for your delayed or canceled flights.

American Airlines

• February 2021: 78.70% of on-time flights, 7% cancellations
• March 2021: 89% of on-time flights, 0.70% cancellations
• April 2021: 88.80% of on-time flights, 0.60% cancellations
• May 2021: 84.90% of on-time flights, 1.10% cancellations

Finally, last in the top 10 and 4th in the US, American Airlines’ performance is not on par with their pre-COVID levels of punctuality.

Was your flight with American Airlines delayed or canceled? Get flight compensation from American Airlines!

How are airlines handling travel in 2021?

Everyday, we help air passengers whose flights were disrupted get compensation from the airline. By law, a traveler like yourself is entitled to up to 600€ for their delayed or cancelled flight.

Beyond that, since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, we’ve been looking at how each airline handles the crisis. As for punctuality, there are winners and losers.

It’s not fair for airlines to be one of the businesses most hit by the pandemic. But neither is it fair for their passengers, whose travel plans and vacation days sometimes went to the trash.

We’ve systematically asked for what is the best compensation on behalf of our passengers: the full refund of their ticket. Yet, there are still airlines who deny their passengers this right. Some offer nothing and force us to go to court, others grant their passengers a partial refund or a voucher for a future flight.

Punctuality is one of the most important criteria when rating the quality of an airline. But recently, customer service has taken an increasingly important role in this rating, and many airlines still don’t give their passengers the care they deserve.

If you’ve had trouble with your airline, know that we’ve got your back. With ClaimCompass, get the full protection that you deserve: