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Cirium awarded Delta Air Lines the Platinum Award for Operational Excellence (for the fourth consecutive year) and name it North America’s most on-time airline. The Platinum Award is presented to airlines that “deliver outstanding on-time performance while navigating complex operations.”
John Laughter, Delta’s EVP and Chief of Operations, said:
It’s an honor to have Cirium once again recognize the hard work and operational excellence of Delta people. Safe, consistent operational excellence is the bedrock of Delta’s growth and the core promise of our 100-year brand.”
Delta was the most on-time airline in North America with 83.46% of its 1,712,529 flights arriving on time. Its 2024 on-time performance exceeded both North American and global industry benchmarks (76.37% and 83.04%, respectively). The carrier also beat its closest North American competitor by 2.53%. The win this year is rather surprising given the CrowdStrike operational meltdown that occurred in July.
Cirium’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mike Malik, added:
With its continued investments in people, processes, and technology, Delta Air Lines is once again setting the benchmark for what operational excellence can look like in the airline industry, inspiring others with its enduring commitment to delivering a world-class travel experience.”
Delta’s SkyTeam partner, Aeroméxico, won the global category, followed by Saudia, and then Delta (in third globally). Cirium defines an on-time flight as one that arrives within 14:59 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival time. Other regional winners include:
- Copa Airlines (Latin America)
- Iberia Express (Europe and Low-Cost Airline)
- Japan Airlines (Asia-Pacific)
- FlySafair (Middle East and Africa)
The award for Most On-Time Global Airport for 2024 went to Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport (RUH) with an impressive 86.65% of flights departing on time. The Middle Eastern hub also secured a victory in the Large Airport category by outperforming top contenders around the world. The winner of the Most On-Time Medium Airport went to Panama’s Tocumen International Airport (PTY). The Most On-Time Small Airport was won by Guayaquil Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport (GYE) in Ecuador.
Anthony’s Take: It’s fascinating that Delta won this award after suffering such a meltdown around the IT issues this past summer. I think that’s equally a commentary on how other airlines operate as much as it is to commend Delta on its normal operational excellence.
(Image Credits: Delta Air Lines.)
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2 comments
AeroMexico is the most on-time airline in North America, Mexico is North America too….
I agree with you about the geography, but Cirium did not award it for NA: https://www.cirium.com/thoughtcloud/most-on-time-airlines-airports-2024-revealed-cirium/