Cirium and OAG, two data intelligence companies in the aerospace industry, have released their January on-time performance (OTP) statistics. The figures reveal a discrepancy between the two sources.
Cirium’s analysis ranks Aeromexico as the most punctual airline for January, with 89.20% of its 15,816 flights arriving on time. The airline also had a completion factor of 99.89%, with 99.73% of its flights tracked by Cirium. Iberia and Qatar Airways followed closely with OTP performances of 85.82% and 85.54%, respectively.
Delta Air Lines was recognized by Cirium as the ninth most punctual airline globally in January, despite experiencing disruptions from a CrowdStrike-caused outage in North America in 2024. However, Cirium placed Delta fourth among North American airlines behind Southwest Airlines (83.3%), Alaska Airlines (82.59%), and Spirit Airlines (81.13%).
“For the Global Airlines category, we consider the Top 10% of all passenger airlines by capacity and volume criteria — by Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs), flights and seats—the airline must also serve at least three regions,” Cirium explained.
In contrast, OAG’s rankings showed FlySafair as the most punctual airline worldwide in January, with an OTP rate of 94.21%. Star Flyer came second with an OTP rating of 92.61%. However, both carriers operated fewer than 10,000 flights during that period.
Hawaiian Airlines led North American carriers according to OAG’s data; it ranked eighteenth globally with an OTP of 85.45%.
Cirium emphasized that it applies “the highest level of quality assurance to the data that supports” its OTP review for accuracy and reliability globally: “The experienced and dedicated Cirium data team collect, verify, and clean the data.”
OAG requires access to flight status data for at least 80% of scheduled flights for inclusion in its published OTP statistics: “OTP is tracked through multiple sources including directly from airlines, airports, control authorities and others involved in the wider travel eco-system.”
Both companies define an on-time flight as one arriving within fifteen minutes of schedule.
