Delta Repeats in 2022 for Top On-Time Performance for N. American Carriers

Delta Air Lines for the second year in a row took the top spot for on-time performance among major North American carriers, according to Cirium's 2022 report, released Thursday.

The carrier had an on-time performance of 84.1 percent on a total of 959,987 flights, down a few points from last year's 87.8 percent performance. Alaska Airlines again took second, with 81.4 percent, followed closely by United Airlines at 81.3 percent. These were the only three carriers with scores above 80 percent.

Article continues below chart

The average on-time performance for the top 10 carriers, which with more than 5 million flights represented 99.6 percent of North American flights, was 71.9 percent. A flight is considered on time if it arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival.

A handful of carriers improved upon their 2021 score: United, Southwest Airlines, Allegiant Air and WestJet, which didn't even make the top 10 last year. Cirium, however, used data from Jan. 1, 2022, through Dec. 15, so the final weeks of the year, when there were significant weather-related cancellations and delays, are not included in the figures. When full-year data is reviewed, it could show different scores, particularly for Southwest, which had more difficulty recovering than other carriers during the holiday period.

Results for global rankings were "still too close to call" and will be released in early January, according to Cirium.