CIRIUM
29.12.2021 14:02:52 CET | Business Wire | Press release
Cirium, the aviation analytics firm, today released its On-Time Performance Review 2021, the global standard for airline and airport operational performance. Cirium awarded Delta Air Lines with the Platinum Award, recognizing the Atlanta-based carrier as the world’s best performing airline of the year for Operational Excellence.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211228005093/en/
The new annual award is presented to an airline with outstanding performance considering the complexity of the airline’s operation, volume of flights, diversity of its network and other key operational factors. The Platinum Award is based on a proprietary algorithm that considers an array of parameters and provides an output to compare airlines on a one-to-one basis as far as possible to ensure fairness, accuracy, and integrity.
“It was another challenging year for the aviation industry, however 2021 was certainly better than 2020, marking the start of the recovery,” said Jeremy Bowen, CEO, Cirium. “Delta Air Lines stood out this year when you consider the carrier’s size, network, and passenger delay minutes, as well as the number of completed flights. It’s an outstanding effort and achievement during a difficult period. All Nippon Airlines (ANA) is recognized as the most on-time airline in the world. Delta, ANA and the regional winners are congratulated.”
Cirium’s 2021 On-Time Performance Review reflects the second half of the year when flight volumes returned. Airlines globally operated nearly 25 million flights, a 10% increase from 2020, but still down 36% compared to 2019.
The report reviews the top performing airlines and airports globally and in specific categories.
Global Airlines
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is named as the most on-time airline in the Global category with 95% of its flights on time. The carrier was followed closely by Japan Airlines (JAL) with 94.1% — reflecting the high standard set by Japanese aviation when it comes to on-time performance. In third place was Aeroflot (91%), followed by LATAM (88.7%) and Delta Air Lines (87.8%).
North America
Delta Air Lines takes home the award for most on-time North American airline with 87.7% of its flights arriving on time. The carrier topped Alaska Airlines (81.7%) and American Airlines (80.5%).
Europe
Spanish IAG carriers — Vueling (92.1%), Iberia Express (91.8%) and Iberia (90.3%) — took three of the top five spots in the European category. Notably, Vueling has expanded internationally in 2021 with 65% of its third quarter capacity dedicated to international flights.
Asia Pacific
In the Asia Pacific, leading Japanese airlines ANA and JAL rank at the top. Airlines that operate a flight schedule consisting mainly of international flights wherein a state of near hibernation in Asia. Those carriers with a sizeable domestic market have fared better. This year’s Top 10 in Asia-Pacific is dominated by airlines with a significant domestic operation.
Latin America
Copa Airlines, an airline that was close to a complete shutdown at the start of the pandemic, is making a strong recovery and operating its expanding flight schedules at a very high level of on-time performance. The carrier won the Latin America category with 90.3% of its flights on time, followed by Aerolineas Argentinas (89.2%) and Azul (88.9%).
Middle East and Africa
South African Low-Cost Carrier, Safair, outperforms in the Middle East and Africa category as 96.4% of its flights were on time. The airline did not feature in the On-Time Performance Review 2019, however has expanded its international services to Mauritius — a holiday destination for South Africans — with focused operations. Royal Jordanian (89%) and Emirates (86.7%) rounded out the performers in the region.
Low-Cost Carriers
Solaseed Air, also a Japanese domestic operator and ANA affiliate, tops the Low-Cost Carrier category with 97.9% of its flights on time in 2021. The airline flies a network of 14 routes and has very nimble operations.
Top Global Airports
The report also identifies the world’s leading airports in on-time performance and Tokyo’s international airport, Haneda Airport, ranks as the most on-time airport globally. In 2021, 95.6% of the airport’s flights departed on time.
Cirium’s on-time performance reporting for airlines and airports is the longest-standing of such analysis in the industry, going back 13 years. Cirium resumed reporting in June 2021, as flight volumes returned, with regular monthly updates that help gauge the industry’s performance in getting passengers from point A to point B, on time. Cirium’s on-time performance analysis is based on flight data from over 600 sources of real-time flight information. For an airline to be on time, their flights must arrive at the airport gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time.
Click here to download the complimentary On-Time Performance Review 2021.
Ends
About Cirium
Cirium brings together powerful data and analytics to keep the world moving. Delivering insight, built from decades of experience in the sector, enabling travel companies, aircraft manufacturers, airports, airlines and financial institutions, among others, to make logical and informed decisions which shape the future of travel, growing revenues and enhancing customer experiences. Cirium is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The shares of RELX PLC are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX.
For further information please follow Cirium updates on LinkedIn or Twitter or visit www.cirium.com .
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211228005093/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
TREASoURcE Shows How Circular Economy Solutions Can Move Beyond Pilots Across Sectors and Regions19.5.2026 07:00:00 CEST | Press release
Across Europe, many circular economy solutions struggle to move beyond isolated pilots and into real-world deployment at scale. New approaches are needed that combine technical feasibility, market relevance and citizen engagement, while remaining adaptable to local contexts. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260518914041/en/ TREASoURcE addressed circular economy challenges across energy, plastics and biobased side streams, combining technical solutions with stakeholder and citizen engagement. The EU-funded TREASoURcE project provides evidence that systemic, citizen-engaged circular economy solutions can be developed, tested and prepared for replication across regions. Using a common regional approach, the project combined real-life demonstrations, cross-value chain collaboration and early consideration of transferability to translate circular economy concepts into practical solutions in the fields of energy, mat
Azafaros Strengthens Leadership Team With Appointment of Amy Sullivan as Chief Financial Officer19.5.2026 07:00:00 CEST | Press release
Experienced biotech finance leader with over 30 years’ experience in capital markets and strategyProven track record in fundraising, M&A and company transformationCompany is currently running two pivotal Phase 3 studies with nizubaglustat in GM1/ GM2 gangliosidoses and Niemann-Pick type C disease Azafaros, a private company building a portfolio to become a leader in Lysosomal Storage Disorders and focused on addressing neurological symptoms, today announced that Amy Sullivan has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Sullivan brings more than 30 years’ experience in the life sciences sector, with expertise in capital raising, corporate strategy and communications. She joins Azafaros from IO Biotech, where she served as Chief Financial Officer. “Amy is a highly accomplished financial leader with a strong track record of supporting growth-stage biotech companies,” said Stefano Portolano, Chief Executive Officer at Azafaros. “Her expertise in financing, strategic positioning a
Shufti Recognised as Dual Leader in Liminal's 2026 Age Verification and Age Estimation Indexes, with Exceptional Ratings Across Both Benchmarks19.5.2026 07:00:00 CEST | Press release
Liminal’s independent buyer-led research positions Shufti among the highest-scoring vendors on Product Execution, Strategy, and Market Presence, citing its risk-based age assurance, sub-second inference, and privacy-preserving on-device capabilities. Shufti has been named a Leader in both the Age Verification and Age Estimation categories of Liminal’s 2026 Index Report, receiving an Exceptional rating for Market Presence across both. Liminal, an actionable intelligence firm, evaluates identity verification vendors across Product Execution, Strategy, and Market Presence, assessing scalability, accuracy, fraud resistance, innovation, and user experience. Out of 189 vendors assessed in the Age Verification Index, only 17 achieved Leader status. Shufti was among them and exceeded the leadership threshold with a 64% Product Execution score and a 92% Strategy score. In Age Estimation, Shufti again ranked among 17 Leaders from 80 evaluated vendors, exceeding leadership thresholds across core
Tennis World Champion Carlos Alcaraz Becomes Global Brand Ambassador for Ant International19.5.2026 05:10:00 CEST | Press release
Global tennis icon Carlos Alcaraz has become the new Global Brand Ambassador for Ant International, a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider, and its key brands. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260518952984/en/ (L-R) Ant International CEO Peng Yang and Carlos Alcaraz celebrate Global Brand Ambassador partnership This collaboration underscores Ant International’s commitment to enabling inclusive growth across global markets through a relentless pursuit of world-leading AI-powered payment and fintech solutions for businesses and individuals – a vision that mirrors the fierce energy and inspiration Carlos Alcaraz brings to every match. “Carlos is not only a sporting champion, but the very personification of the core values of tennis for fans worldwide: boundless ambition, unwavering dedication, scalpel precision in delivery, and sportsmanship both on and off the court,” sai
Hitachi Announces Strategic Partnership With Anthropic to Strengthen "Lumada 3.0" Through Frontier AI19.5.2026 02:00:00 CEST | Press release
Combining Hitachi’s 110+ years of domain expertise with frontier AI will advance safe real-world deployment of physical AI and strengthen customer AI transformation Deploying advanced AI across all business processes for approximately 290,000 employees to enhance productivity at scale Developing 100,000 AI professional talent and co-creating new HMAX solutions leveraging proven outcomes from Hitachi’s “Customer Zero” approach Establishing the “Frontier AI Deployment Center,” a global organization spanning North America, Europe, and Asia with an initial team of 100 experts Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, "Hitachi") today announced a strategic partnership with Anthropic PBC (“Anthropic”), a global leader in AI safety research and trusted AI models, to further strengthen the “Lumada 3.0” business model. As artificial intelligence evolves beyond cyberspace to directly influence real-world systems—otherwise known as physical AI—demand is rapidly growing for the safe and seamless deployment of AI i
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom
