Delta was once again the timeliest North American large airline in 2023, according to the airline analytics company Cirium.
Delta also won Cirium's Platinum Award, determined by evaluating timeliness alongside the overall breadth of an airline's operations.
"Delta's performance has been consistent for many years and it continues to garner the admiration of the industry," Cirium chief marketing officer Mike Malik said.
Delta's on-time performance for the year was 84.7%, besting the 82.3% performance of Alaska Airlines. American improved to third with an on-time performance of 80.6%, leapfrogging United, which came in fourth by arriving on time 80% of the time. Southwest rounded out the top five with a 76.3% on-time performance.
Cirium uses the DOT definition for on time -- flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule.
The analytics company also ranks the on-time performance of airlines outside the U.S.
In the global category, which applies to airlines that serve at least three international regions on a daily basis, Colombia's Avianca took top prize with an 85.9% on-time performance. Brazil's Azul was next at 85.5%. Qatar Airways claimed third with an on-time performance of 85.1%. Delta finished fourth in the global category.
In regions outside North America, Iberia Express was the timeliest European carrier at 84.6%; Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) led the Asia-Pacific region with an on-time performance of 82.8%; Oman Air led the Middle East-Africa region with a stellar performance of 92.5%; and Panama's Copa, which wasn't eligible for Cirium's Global Airlines category, bested Avianca in Latin America with an 89.5% performance.
UPDATED: On-time performances in this report were updated on Jan. 2 at 4:30 Eastern time for the following airlines: Delta, United, Southwest, Azul, Iberia Express, All Nippon and Oman.