WestJet and Air Canada Struggle with Timeliness in 2024
Canada’s two largest airlines, WestJet and Air Canada, ranked at the bottom of North America’s top 10 major carriers for on-time performance in 2024, according to Cirium Aviation Analytics’ year-end report.
WestJet Finishes Last Among Top 10 Carriers
Calgary-based WestJet, which operates extensively from Toronto Pearson Airport in Mississauga, recorded the lowest on-time performance among North America’s major airlines. The carrier landed just 70.99% of its 192,084 flights on schedule, meaning nearly 30% of its flights arrived 15 minutes or more past their scheduled time.
Air Canada Marginally Outperforms WestJet, Ranking Ninth
Montreal-based Air Canada, Canada’s flagship carrier, managed a slightly better on-time rate of 71.36% across its 385,703 flights in 2024. Despite the improvement from 2023, when it ranked last, Air Canada still faced delays on nearly 28.5% of its flights.
Denver-based Frontier Airlines secured the eighth spot, narrowly surpassing Air Canada with an on-time performance rate of 71.57% across 221,171 flights.
Delta Airlines Leads North America for a Fourth Consecutive Year
Delta Airlines retained its top position in North America’s on-time performance rankings for 2024, with an impressive 83.46% of its 1.71 million flights arriving as scheduled.
United Airlines followed in second place, achieving an on-time rate of 80.93% across 1.62 million flights, while Alaska Airlines ranked third with 79.25% of its 432,871 flights landing on time.
Overall On-Time Performance in North America Declines
Of the 8.8 million flights operated by the 10 largest airlines in Canada and the U.S. combined, 76.37% arrived on time, marking a decline in punctuality across the board.
For context, Cirium defines a flight as “on time” if it arrives at its destination within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
Regional Comparisons Highlight Canada’s Challenges
Cirium’s global rankings also shed light on comparative performances in other regions. Notably, Aeromexico, ranked second in Latin America, achieved an impressive 86.70% on-time rate for its 196,911 flights in 2024. Meanwhile, Panama’s Copa Airlines topped the Latin American rankings with an 88.22% on-time performance for 125,445 flights.
While Canadian airlines continue to struggle, these rankings emphasize the importance of reliability and timeliness in an increasingly competitive aviation industry.