REUTERS/Jose Cabezas
A Copa Airlines Boeing 737.
Every year, global
travel data provider OAG sifts through a mountain of data to create its annual ranking of the airlines with the best on-time performance, or OTP, called the Punctuality League.This year, OAG analyzed over 57 million flight records collected from around the world between January 1 and January 31, 2018.
- The overall winner is Panama-based Copa Airlines.
Hawaiian Airlines took the title of most punctual US airline while AirBaltic took the top spot among European carriers. Hong Kong Airlines took the top spot for Asian airlines while LATAM won for South America. South Africa's Mango Airlines was named the most punctual airline from the African continent.
- Brazil's Azul was named the most punctual low-cost carrier.
The airlines were then ranked based on their OTP, which is defined as the percentage of flights that depart or arrive with 15 minutes of their scheduled times.
In 2017, more than four billion people around the world traveled by air. The result is a growing airline industry that has pushed the constraints of the global air transport networks' existing infrastructure and technology.
In an age of crowded airports and flight delays, some airlines perform better than others.
Every year, global travel data provider OAG sifts through a mountain of data to create its annual rankings of the airlines with the best on-time performance, or OTP, called the Punctuality League.
"On-time performance is one of the single most important metrics in the travel industry," John Grand, a senior analyst at OAG, said in a statement. "Every on-time arrival and departure creates a significant trickle-down impact that affects travelers, other airlines and airports, business, travel suppliers and more."
Read more: The 10 best airlines in the world for 2019.
To create the rankings, OAG analyzed over 57 million flight records collected from around the world between January 1 and January 31, 2018. OAG must have data for at least 80% of an airline's flights in order for it to qualify for the list.
The airlines are then ranked based on their OTP, which is defined as the percentage of flights that depart or arrive with 15 minutes of their scheduled times.
The overall winner is Panama-based Copa Airlines, with an on-time performance of just under 90%.
Hawaiian Airlines took the title of most punctual US airline while AirBaltic took the top spot among European carriers. Hong Kong Airlines took the top spot for Asian airlines while LATAM won for South America.
South Africa's Mango Airlines was named the most punctual airline from the African continent while Brazil's Azul was named the most punctual low-cost carrier.
Here's a closer look at the 20 most punctual airlines in 2018: