If you travel frequently, odds are you’ll experience a flight delay at some point, perhaps due to unavoidable reasons such as weather. But putting aside factors outside of their control, some airlines run a better operation than others. Case in point: A report from aviation analytics company Cirium looked at the on-time performance of major airlines in North America (and around the world) in 2024. Here are the North American airlines to book — and ones to avoid — if you’re looking for the best chance of an on-time arrival on your next getaway.
10. WestJet
On-time arrival rate: 70.9%
Calgary-based carrier WestJet is Canada’s second-largest airline, flying over 200 planes to more than 100 destinations around the globe. Of the carrier’s 192,000 flights in 2024, nearly 30% of them arrived at their destinations late, which puts WestJet at No. 10 in the on-time rankings for North American airlines. WestJet also had the lowest completion factor (percentage of scheduled flights that are flown and not canceled) in the report, at 96.81%.
9. Air Canada
On-time arrival rate: 71.36%
Ranking just ahead of rival WestJet is Canadian flag carrier Air Canada. The largest airline in Canada and a founding member of the Star Alliance, Air Canada operated more than 385,000 flights in 2024, but over 28% of them were delayed. Fortunately, the on-time performance at Air Canada and WestJet is trending in the right direction, as 2024 was an improvement over previous years for both airlines.
8. Frontier Airlines
On-time arrival rate: 71.57%
Denver-based Frontier Airlines is an ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC), known for low fares and low-frills service. These carriers typically also have high utilization of their aircraft fleets to keep costs low, which can lead to delays. (According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, a late inbound arriving aircraft is typically among the top reasons for flight delays.) Frontier ranked No. 8 for on-time performance among North American carriers in 2024.
7. JetBlue
On-time arrival rate: 74.53%
New York City-based JetBlue recently made headlines when the Department of Transportation fined the airline (along with Southwest Airlines) for operating a number of chronically delayed flights. While the carrier has struggled with on-time performance in the past, 2024 was a noticeable improvement for JetBlue. Nearly three-quarters of the airline’s flights arrived on schedule, compared with less than 70% in 2023.
6. Spirit Airlines
On-time arrival rate: 76.05%
Budget airline Spirit also improved its punctuality in 2024, increasing from a 71.16% on-time arrival rate to 76.05% on schedule. Despite that bit of good news, Spirit has seen its fortunes decline in recent years and entered bankruptcy protection in late 2024. The airline is aiming to restructure and exit bankruptcy in the first quarter of 2025 and has also received merger interest from rival Frontier.
5. Southwest Airlines
On-time arrival rate: 77.77%
Southwest retains its No. 5 on-time ranking from 2023. The Dallas-based airline, one of the four largest airlines in the U.S., improved its performance by about two percentage points year-over-year — largely thanks to improvements made after suffering a meltdown over the 2022 holiday period. Southwest flew more than 1.4 million flights in 2024.
4. American Airlines
On-time arrival rate: 77.78%
Headquartered across town from Southwest in Fort Worth, Texas, American Airlines landed in the No. 4 spot for most on-time North American airlines in the Cirium report. However, American’s performance dipped slightly from 2023, when the airline ranked one spot higher. Still, American operated over 2.1 million flights in 2024, the most of any carrier on the list.
3. Alaska Airlines
On-time arrival rate: 79.25%
Nearly 80% of flights on Alaska Airlines arrived on time in 2024. The Seattle-based airline recently acquired Hawaiian Airlines, which ranked as the most punctual airline in the U.S. for 18 years in a row, until 2022. The combined carrier now offers flights to more than 140 destinations throughout North America, Asia, Australia, and the South Pacific.
2. United Airlines
On-time arrival rate: 80.93%
In February 2024, Chicago-based United Airlines became the first airline to operate a fleet of over 1,000 aircraft. Even though it’s now the world’s biggest airline by number of planes, United kept the majority of its flights running on schedule in 2024, moving up two spots in the rankings to land at No. 2 on the list.
1. Delta Air Lines
On-time arrival rate: 83.46%
Delta, which has its headquarters and largest hub at the world’s busiest airport in Atlanta, was the most on-time airline in North America in 2023. The airline landed in the top spot again in 2024, with over 83% of its more than 1.7 million flights arriving on schedule. The feat is all the more impressive considering that Delta is also one of the oldest airlines still flying — the carrier celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2025.
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