Canada’s two biggest airlines at bottom of top 10 in North America for being on time

Canada’s second-biggest airline was the worst among North America’s 10 major carriers in getting passengers to their destinations on time in 2024, year-end aviation industry numbers show.

Calgary-based WestJet, which operates many or most of its flights out of Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga, ran behind schedule on nearly 30 per cent of its 192,084 flights in 2024, according to data compiled by Cirium Aviation Analytics in its 2024 year-end On-time Performance Report.

In Cirium’s monthly and year-end rankings, a late flight is defined as one that arrives at its destination 15 minutes or more past its scheduled arrival time.

WestJet landed 70.99 per cent of its flights on time during the 12-month period to finish last among the top 10 carriers (see chart below).

While Cirium says it tracks monthly on-time performance numbers for some 20 airlines in Canada and the U.S., an official with the company told INsauga.com it reports only on the top 10.

(Source: Cirium Aviation Analytics)

Montreal-based Air Canada, meanwhile, which runs most of its flights out of Pearson Airport, finished just ahead of WestJet in ninth spot for 2024.

Canada’s flagship carrier, which placed No. 10 in 2023 (WestJet was No. 7), landed 71.36 per cent of its 385,703 2024 flights on schedule, the numbers show. That means nearly 28.5 per cent of its flights were deemed late in arriving.

Denver-based Frontier Airlines narrowly nosed out Air Canada for eighth spot on the 2024 list, landing 71.57 per cent of its 221,171 flights on time.

At the top of the list, U.S.-based Delta Airlines led the way for a fourth-straight year in North America, landing 83.46 per cent of its 1.71 million flights on time.

United Airlines, also based in the U.S., operated 80.93 per cent of its 1.62 million flights on time to take second place in the rankings while Alaska Airlines, headquartered in Seattle, wound up third with 79.25 per cent of its 432,871 flights getting to their destinations on time.

Of 8,801,752 total flights in 2024 operated by the 10 largest airlines in Canada and the U.S. combined, 76.37 per cent arrived on time upon completion of their journey, the numbers show.

Chart shows 2023 year-end results. (Source: Cirium Aviation Analytics)

For purposes of Cirium’s data collection, only U.S. and Canadian carriers are included in North American numbers. Mexico’s Aeromexico is included in monthly and year-end Latin American rankings despite Mexico being one of the three countries that comprise North America.

Aeromexico landed 86.70 per cent of its 196,911 2024 flights on time to finish second in Latin American rankings behind Copa Airlines (Panama), which got 88.22 per cent of its 125,445 flights to their destinations on time.

Each month, Cirium ranks the 10 largest airlines in a given region around the world based on their on-time performance rate. Regions where numbers are tracked, in addition to North America and Latin America, are Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East and Africa.

(Cover photo: U.S. Federal Aviation Administration)