Chart of the Day: Chinese Mega-Airlines No Longer the World’s Least Punctual

A report on the world’s 20 largest airlines shows China’s largest airlines became significantly more punctual last year, though they still lag behind their peers.

China Southern Airlines, based in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, had an on-time rate of 71.5% in 2018, up by over 7 percentage points from the year before, according to a report released by industry tracker OAG. Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines hit 70.6%, up by 8.8 percentage points year-on-year. Beijing-based Air China, managed just 68.8%, up by 8.7 percentage points.

The on-time rate refers to the percentage of flights arriving or departing within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.

These numbers put China Southern in 15th place, China Eastern in 17th, and Air China in 19th.

In 2017, China Southern, China Eastern and Air China were the three least punctual of the top 20 global airlines, with on-time rates of just 64.19%, 61.8% and 60.14% respectively.

The trio was far behind the Chile-based LATAM Airlines Group, which led the list with an on-time rate of 85.60%, up from 79.39% the year before. At the bottom of the list was Air Canada, with a 66.82% rating.