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The Flying Kangaroo is flying high on the world stage right now! Following its recent accolades as the world’s third-safest airline and fifth-best long-haul carrier, Qantas has now been named the world’s most punctual airline for the month of June. This impressive result marks the national carrier’s best mid-year performance since 2017, largely driven by a major $15 billion investment in its next-generation fleet.
According to the latest results from digital flight tracker OAG, 87.16 per cent of all Qantas flights landed on time in June – a big jump from the 80.4 per cent recorded in the same period last year. This officially makes Qantas the world’s most on-time major airline right now – a bracket reserved for carriers that operate more than 20,000 monthly flights.
This win is largely thanks to a mega $15 billion investment in new aircraft, with Airbus A220-300s and A321 XLRs to replace the retired Boeing 717s. Qantas has also streamlined things on the tarmac, adopting double-door boarding techniques and utilising artificial intelligence to improve turnaround times.
The Flying Kangaroo ranked just ahead of Colombia’s Avianca, which landed in second place with 87 per cent on-time arrivals, and India’s IndiGo in third at 86.6 per cent. While Qantas recorded a slightly higher cancellation rate (1.59 per cent compared to Avianca's 0.97 per cent and IndiGo's pristine 0.2 per cent), those figures don’t impact the on-time airline rankings. Punctuality scores are judged purely on flights that arrive or depart within 15 minutes of their scheduled time.
Looking at the global leaderboard of 145 airlines, Qantas ranks 23rd. Garuda Indonesia tops the overall list with an on-time performance score of 97 per cent, though they operate on a smaller scale, flying just under one-third of Qantas’s total June volume.
As for the local competition? Virgin Australia sits in 71st place overall, with an 80.18 per cent on-time arrival rate in June and a cancellation rate of just 0.77 per cent. Jetstar trailed behind in 90th position, clocking a 75.8 per cent punctuality rate and a 0.77 per cent cancellation rate. This places Virgin and Jetstar at 17th and 24th respectively in the 'Large Airlines' category for carriers running between 10,000 and 20,000 monthly flights. You can check out the full rankings here.
The world’s 10 most punctual major airlines in June
- Qantas Airways
- Avianca
- IndiGo
- SAS Scandinavian Airlines
- Pegasus Airlines
- Azul Airlines
- LATAM Airlines Group
- Delta Air Lines
- China Southern Airlines
- Alaska Airlines