U.S. Airports and Airlines in the West Have the Best On-Time Performance

Airline passengers traveling through the western half of the United States can expect their flight to arrive and depart on-time more than anywhere else in the country, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Airlines with most of their routes in that region -- like Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Air -- have the highest on-time arrival and departure dates, as do the airports in Salt Lake City and Seattle.

Overall, airlines’ on-time arrival performance was poor in comparison to the previous 20 years.

Only 74.4 percent of flights arrived on time in the seventh-month period between January and July, the sixth lowest in twenty years. The cancellation rate for this period, 2.9 percent, was the third highest in twenty years.

Airlines and airports will quickly point to this January's "polar vortex" as the culprit behind the poor numbers in the east and the midwest.

Salt Lake City International Airport has the highest on-time arrival (84.7 percent) and departure (86 percent) performance of all U.S. cities for the seven month period from January to July.

Seattle-Tacoma International, Minneapolis-St. Paul International and Miami International also fall within the top five airports for both highest on-time arrival and departure performance.

Dallas-Fort Worth made the greatest improvements in on-time arrivals moving up 8 spots year-over-year to number ten in the rankings. Miami made the greatest improvement in on-time departures moving up 11 spots year-over-year to number  rankings.

Chicago airports fared poorly with Chicago O’Hare reporting the lowest on-time arrival performance (66.2 percent) and Chicago Midway reporting the lowest on-time departure performance (61.1 percent) for the seven-month period. Midway is a perennial bottom dweller on the BTS list.

The on-time arrival rates for the top ten best performing U.S. airports for the seven month period from January through July are seen below:

Source: Department of Transportation

The on-time departure rates for the top ten best performing U.S. airports for the seven month period from January through July are seen below:

Source: Department of Transportation

On the carrier side, Hawaiian, Alaska and Virgin America reported the highest on-time and departure rates of all U.S. carriers.

These carriers usually take the top spot due to their routes, which largely miss the Northeast Corridor where bad winter weather most often impacts flights.

Hawaiian Airlines sent out a press release shortly after the announcement reminding the press and passengers that it’s had the highest on-time performance for ten consecutive years.

The on-time arrival rates for all U.S. carriers for the seven month period from January through July are seen below:

Source: Department of Transportation

The on-time departure rates for all U.S. carriers in the seven month period from January through July are shown below:

Source: Department of Transportation