South Africa’s FlySafair tops OAG’s global list of most on-time airlines in February 

Business a.m.

A list of the world’s top most on-time airlines and airports for February prepared by global air travel data provider OAG shows FlySafair of South Africa leading the pack with the best on-time performance (OTP) in February.

The list also shows Hawaiian Airlines leading the pack in North America.

According to a Simple Flying report monitored by Business a.m., the OAG’s February rankings list FlySafair, Aeromexico, and Copa Airlines as having the best global OTP performance during the month. The South African, Mexican, and Panamanian carriers had an OTP of 95.82 percent (4,471 total flights), 92.94 percent (14,701 total flights), and 92.63 percent (9,796 total flights), respectively.

It noted that six airlines had an OTP of more than 90 percent, which includes three Western European carriers: Iberia (92.24%, 16,864 total flights), Austrian Airlines (90.73%, 7,417 total flights), and Air Europa (90.04%, 5,054 total flights).

Just below the 90 percent threshold was Royal Jordanian, with an OTP of 89.81 percent (2,533 total flights), and Fuji Dream Airlines, a Japan-based regional airline, with an OTP of 88.93 percent (1,944 total flights).

It described Fuji Dream Airlines as one of two Japanese all-Embraer E-jets family aircraft operators, with the other being J-Air, a subsidiary of Japan Airlines. All Nippon Airways ordered 20 (five options) E190-E2 aircraft in February, with deliveries starting in FY2028.

Ireland-based Aer Lingus and Qatar Airways closed out the top ten, with OTPs of 88.87 percent and 88 percent, respectively.

Hawaiian Airlines tops in North America

Meanwhile, in North America, Hawaiian Airlines (83.49%, 6,356 total flights), Southwest Airlines (82.42%, 102,457 total flights), and Spirit Airlines (81.34%, 17,810 total flights) were ranked in the top three, with the three airlines being the only carriers to achieve an OTP of more than 80%.

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines had a similar OTP performance during the month, with 79.84 percent and 79.15 percent, respectively, ranking fourth and fifth, according to OAG.

American Airlines, which operated the most flights out of all the airlines in North America – 165,888 – had an OTP of 75.85 percent, ranking eighth on the continent.

The first Canadian airline to appear in the rankings was Air Transat, which operated 2,196 flights during the month, with an average OTP of 67.07 percent. Other Canadian airlines, including Air Canada, Flair Airlines, and Westjet, had an OTP of below 60%.

However, that is not surprising considering that Canada, especially carriers with major operations at Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), faced significant weather-related disruptions in mid-February.

For example, Air Canada shared an update on February 18, saying that it had to cancel around 1,290 flights in six days, not only due to weather-related complications but also due to the Endeavor Air incident at Toronto-Pearson on February 17.

Phoenix Sky Harbor leads North American airports

In terms of North American airports, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) led the continent’s rankings, with an OTP of 82.81 percent. OAG tracked 16,982 flights departing the airport in February.

However, Phoenix Sky Harbor only ranked 19th globally. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) rounded off the top three, with an OTP of 82.67 percent and 80.97 percent, respectively.

Similarly to the airlines’ ranking in North America, Phoenix Sky Harbor, Los Angeles International, and Houston-Intercontinental were the only airports with an OTP of more than 80 percent in the region.

Furthermore, the first Canadian airport on the list was Toronto-Pearson, which, due to the aforementioned weather-related disruptions, had an OTP of 54.48 percent, ranking 80th globally.