26 U.S. and Canadian Airlines, Ranked by On-Time Performance
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Since 1929, the Official Aviation Guide (OAG) has captured the data of the airline industry. Meant to connect people, places and experiences across the planet, the OAG’s data reveals the good, the bad and the ugly of the industry. For example, more than 9,000 flights around the world are canceled every week, affecting nearly 12 million passengers daily. And the 2022 holiday delays and cancellations throughout North America were a very-real reminder of that.
OAG released a December 2022 report highlighting the on-time performance (OTP) of more than 300 airlines around the world. Here, we highlight all 26 airlines operating in Canada and the United States, ranked by their timeliness. Is your favorite airline on time, or is it big on cancelations? This is how each airline took off at the end of the year.
26. Northern Pacific Airways, Inc., d.b.a. Ravn Alaska
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Headquarters: Anchorage, Alaska
On-time performance for arrivals: 99%
No. of flights: 1,026
Percentage of cancelations: 0%
This airline has been serving 12 Alaskan communities since 1946, and apparently, it's been doing it quite well. With a fleet size of about 16 planes, passengers find this regional airline to be quite reliable with some of the highest on-time performance numbers in the world.
* All stats come from the December 2022 report released by OAG.
25. Delta Air Lines
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Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia
On-time performance for arrivals: 77%
No. of flights: 126,537
Percentage of cancelations: 2.8%
America’s largest carrier is also the best of its size for on-time rankings. So many people fly Delta that it has made its hub airport, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, the busiest airport in the world. This means arriving two hours in advance of your flight to have time to get through security because its flights are likely to depart on time.
24. American Airlines
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Headquarters: Fort Worth, Texas
On-time performance for arrivals: 74.1%
No. of flights: 160,045
Percentage of cancelations: 1.6%
American is one of the top three carriers in the United States, and its low cancelation rate makes us think that maybe it’s time to stop complaining about the airline's services. (Or is that just us?)
23. United Airlines
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Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois
On-time performance for arrivals: 72.1%
No. of flights: 118,766
Percentage of cancelations: 2.9%
Americans may have lots of complaints about its three biggest air carriers, so let both OAG settle the debate: United is the worst of the three for on-time flights. But, hey, all three are still better than most discount carriers.
22. Silver Airways LLC
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Headquarters: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
On-time performance for arrivals: 68.8%
No. of flights: 1,753
Percentage of cancelations: 0.2%
Basically a puddle-jumping carrier, Silver Airwards connects its travelers to the Caribbean and the American south from its hub in Florida. And it does it well, with a stellar cancellation rate as well as decent stats for on-time performance.
21. Spirit Airlines
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Headquarters: Miramar, Florida
On-time performance for arrivals: 64.7%
No. of flights: 24,336
Percentage of cancelations: 4.3%
As budget airlines go, Spirit actually can spirit you away on time. JetBlue recently announced an acquisition of the Florida-based airline, so changes are coming that could make it even better. Or worse.
20. Alaska Airlines
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Headquarters: SeaTac, Washington
On-time performance for arrivals: 61.1%
No. of flights: 32,244
Percentage of cancelations: 7.4%
Think Alaska Airlines only flies the Pacific Northwest? Think again. This airline continues to expand and is now the sixth-largest airline in North America. On OAG’s list, it still has some work to do in regard to on-time performance for arrivals, and only time will tell if it surpasses some of the larger players.
19. Cape Air
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Headquarters: Hyannis, Massachusetts
On-time performance for arrivals: 60.4%
No. of flights: 6,675
Percentage of cancelations: 15%
Operating flights around Cape Cod and the islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard and the Caribbean, this smaller airline often blames foggy ocean weather for its delays. Can’t help the weather, so we’ll give them a pass for their on-time performance, but a 15 percent cancellation rate is no bueno.
18. Southwest Airlines
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Headquarters: Dallas, Texas
On-time performance for arrivals: 59.3%
No. of flights: 119,098
Percentage of cancelations: 14.2%
Southwest is a unique carrier in that it provides seating on a first-come, first-serve basis and its flight attendants are oft on TikTok and Insta for their sarcasm and wit. It also beats out every low-cost carrier in the U.S. for being on time, even with more than 100,000 flights. Of course, the cancellations in late 2022 left a bitter taste in the mouths of thousands of passengers, so only time will tell if this airline can come back from the bad PR that caused.
16. JetBlue Airways Corporation (Tie)
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Headquarters: Long Island City, New York
On-time performance for arrivals: 58.5%
No. of flights: 30,472
Percentage of cancelations: 1.8%
You’ll be hard-pressed to find flights to more than 100 domestic and international destinations cheaper than one of the more than 1,000 daily flights offered by New York’s JetBlue. A 58 percent for on-time arrivals isn’t too bad (sorta), but we like that low cancelation rate. Plus, the snacks and modern look that this airline provides are nothing to scoff at.
16. Hawaiian Airlines (Tie)
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Headquarters: Honolulu, Hawaii
On-time performance for arrivals: 58.5%
No. of flights: 6,975
Percentage of cancelations: 3.4%
Hawaiian Airlines ties with JetBlue for its on-time performance rate. With its low number of flights, we think that rate should be higher. But this carrier takes you to Hawaii, so it's hard to complain too much.
15. Allegiant Air LLC
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Headquarters: Las Vegas, Nevada
On-time performance for arrivals: 57.9%
No. of flights: 10,408
Percentage of cancelations: 5.7%
Originally operating as WestJet Express, this airline changed its name to avoid being confused with the Canadian low-cost carrier about to appear in the top 10 worst on this list. (Good call!) Also a budget carrier, Allegiant flies to secondary destinations such as Flint, Michigan, instead of Detroit, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, instead of Philadelphia. That doesn’t mean it’s always on time, but at least the crowds are smaller.
14. Frontier Airlines Inc.
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Headquarters: Denver, Colorado
On-time performance for arrivals: 56.8%
No. of flights: 14,989
Percentage of cancelations: 4.4%
Frontier offers cheap flights that travel to more than 100 destinations throughout the U.S. Its Denver headquarters is likely what keeps this airline from having a good on-time performance, as the airport is notorious for weather delays.
13. Pacific Coastal Airlines Limited
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Headquarters: Richmond, British Columbia
On-time performance for arrivals: 56.7%
No. of flights: 1,042
Percentage of cancelations: 21.60%
This Canadian airline has regularly scheduled flights for passenger and cargo planes. As its name implies, it covers the Pacific Coast, connecting 18 cities with more than 1,000 flights. But nearly a quarter of those get canceled, and its on-time record is iffy, according to the data.
12. Air North
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Headquarters: Whitehorse, Yukon
On-time performance for arrivals: 54.1%
No. of flights: 436
Percentage of cancelations: 1.2%
When traveling in Canada’s Yukon, just be happy there is an airline dedicated to getting you somewhere, period. While it's on-time performance wasn't great in December 2022, its cancelation rate is something to be thankful for.
11. Porter Airlines Inc.
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Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
On-time performance for arrivals: 53.7%
No. of flights: 4,319
Percentage of cancelations: 5.8%
Unless you are traveling between Toronto and remote Canadian vacation destinations like New Brunswick or Nova Scotia, you probably have never heard of Porter. This regional carrier flies smaller crafts to help travelers skip long drives to get away. It's not too bad at it, either.
10. Air Transat A.T. Inc.
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Hub: Vancouver, British Columbia
On-time performance for arrivals: 50.6%
No. of flights: 1,777
Percentage of cancelations: 0%
With no cancelations, Canada’s third-largest airline is a pretty safe bet if you're willing to deal with delays half of the time. You’ll find flights on Air Transat between Canada and the U.S. and Europe.
9. Elite Airways
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Headquarters: Portland, Maine
On-time performance for arrivals: 50%
No. of flights: 52
Percentage of cancelations: 0%
Offering both chartered and scheduled flights to nine U.S. destinations between North Carolina, New York, Florida and Maine, Elite doesn't cancel flights, but its on-time arrivals performance is split 50 percent. You’d think with fewer flights to worry about, they could be more on time.
8. Sun Country Airlines
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Headquarters: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota
On-time performance for arrivals: 43.9%
No. of flights: 2,219
Percentage of cancelations: 0.3%
When you live in one of the coldest areas of the U.S., escaping to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America in the winter makes Sun Country a popular choice. Plus, it offers incredibly low-cost fares. But as they say, you get what you pay for, and sometimes, that means waiting. At least the cancelations are low, right?
7. Air Canada
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Headquarters: Montreal, Quebec
On-time performance for arrivals: 42.9%
No. of flights: 30,962
Percentage of cancelations: 7.7%
The largest airline in Canada offers thousands more flights than its competitors, but bigger isn't always better, as proven with its OTP ranking.
6. WestJet
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Headquarters: Calgary, Alberta
On-time performance for arrivals: 39.3%
No. of flights: 15,975
Percentage of cancelations: 10.9%
Like JetBlue, WestJet is one of the 10 largest “alternative” airlines (meaning “cheap”), traveling to more than 100 destinations across North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Whether you’ll get where you are going on time is another story.
5. PAL Airlines
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Headquarters: St. John’s, Newfoundland
On-time performance for arrivals: 27.9%
No. of flights: 1,595
Percentage of cancelations: 52.8%
PAL Airlines is definitely not a friend. It may tout itself as a provider of reliable flights in Eastern Canada, but cancelations got dangerously close to 55 percent, and being late nearly 75 percent of the time is not very "pal" like.
4. Swoop
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Headquarters: Calgary, Alberta
On-time performance for arrivals: 26.4%
No. of flights: 1,414
Percentage of cancelations: 8.8%
Named Swoop by its parent company, WestJet, after “swooping” into Canada as a new carrier, just 10 planes are operating nearly 1,000 flights with the inability to swoop in on time, even half of the time.
3. Air Inuit
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Headquarters: Dorval, Quebec
On-time performance for arrivals: 25.8%
No. of flights: 1,375
Percentage of cancelations: 24.1%
Air Inuit lands in the top three worst on-time airlines in North America. Operating flights mainly across Quebec, it’s highly likely you’ll arrive at your destination late, if at all.
2. Sunwing Airlines Inc.
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Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario
On-time performance for arrivals: 23.5%
No. of flights: 2,227
Percentage of cancelations: 24.10%
Sunwing can get Canadian and U.S. travelers to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America with economy prices — but rarely on time and, like Air Inuit, sometimes not at all. Operating since 2005, its warm-weather destinations are offered in the winter months, while during the summer, flights primarily remain within Canada.
1. Eastern Airlines LLC
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Headquarters: Wayne, Pennsylvania
On-time performance for arrivals: 0%
No. of flights: 6
Percentage of cancelations: 0%
Known initially as Dynamic Airways, this regional airline only has 14 planes and operates 50 flights to routes between Brazil, Miami and New York. While none of its only six flights got canceled in December 2022, zero of them were on time!