Panama’s Copa Airlines SA has been crowned as last year’s most punctual carrier in a global survey, but no major U.S. airline made it into the top five.
Latvia’s Air Baltic ranked second among airlines arriving or departing within 15 minutes of scheduled times, according to a report by OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd. Hong Kong Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Bangkok Airways rounded out the top five. Among major U.S. carriers, Delta Air Lines Inc. made it only into the top 20.
About 4.3 billion passengers traveled by air last year, 6.1 percent more than in 2017, according to a preliminary report by the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization. Airlines filled a record 81.9 percent of their seats in 2018, it said.
Among airports ranked by OAG, Tokyo’s Haneda topped the list for the best on-time performance for mega facilities catering to more than 30 million airline seats last year. The ranking is based on the proportion of flights at each airport that arrive and leave within 15 minutes of scheduled times.
Five U.S. airports were among the top 10, with Atlanta ranking second. Los Angeles jumped to fifth place from 11th. Bangkok entered the top 10, while London’s Heathrow and Frankfurt dropped out.