British Airways and easyJet rank in the top 20 for annual on-time performance of the world’s largest airlines, according to new data.
The two UK-based airlines are ranked at 10th and 15th respectively among the world’s largest carriers – BA with 79% and easyJet with 75% of flights both departing and arriving on time.
The results of the OAG Punctuality League 2018 put Japan Airlines and rival All Nippon Airways top in the mega airlines league with 99.1% and 97.4% of flights on time.
The report also places easyJet in the top 20 low-cost carriers for punctuality, while European carrier airBaltic took the top spot as the most punctual airline in the world, with over 90% on time performance.
OAG senior analyst John Grant said: “BA and easyJet are certainly holding their own amongst their global counterparts. In a highly competitive environment, it’s great to see the UK-based airlines reporting an impressive on-time performance.”
Birmingham airport ranked first in the category for medium-sized airports for the second year, with an on time performance of 90%.
Liverpool John Lennon airport came 7th in the small airport category, at 86%.
Heathrow, appeared 10th worldwide in a new mega category, showcasing airports with 30 million or more departing seats. Heathrow ranked 6th among UK airports, with an on time performance of 75%.
Grant said: “The success of Birmingham and Liverpool, is an example of how the UK’s regional airports have created world-class facilities and networks that both connect their regional communities to the world, and provide valuable economic growth.
“As one of the busiest airports in the world and one of only a few of their peers to improve on time performance versus a year ago, Heathrow’s appearance in the top 10 for punctuality demonstrates the airport’s commitment to continuing to provide a timely service to passengers.”
This year’s report sees the introduction of the top 20 busiest international routes and explores the punctuality of the airlines that operate those routes.
Heathrow is included in four routes and resident carrier BA records an average on time performance of 75% across the key routes of Dublin-Heathrow, Heathrow-New York JFK, Amsterdam Schiphol-Heathrow and Frankfurt-Heathrow.
However, other carriers are more punctual on these routes, with Heathrow only taking the top spot on the Frankfurt route.
“Routes such as Heathrow to JFK are very competitive,” says Grant. “Although transatlantic, the in-air travel time and the number of carriers operating flights for this route means that BA needs to replicate success with other routes to increase on time performance from its hub both to and from this popular destination.”
The OAG Punctuality League 2018 is based on approximately 57 million flight records using full-year data from 2017.