STATEN ISLAND, NY – You’ve all checked in at the airport, your bags have passed TSA, and you’ve just sat down near the gate to eat the overpriced snacks you bought.
And that’s where it happens. Your flight has been delayed. It’s every Traveler’s biggest pet peeve – although it’s stuck in front of crying babies on a red eye, that is.
Data Journalism Site Stacker used information from the United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to determine the percentage of delayed flights among all airlines.
“We looked at the most recent data available – reported by airlines to BTS from December 2020 to December 2021 – and defined ‘delayed’ as a flight arriving at its destination at least 15 minutes after its scheduled arrival time,” said Stacker. . “If two airlines had the same percentage of flights on time, they share the same rating. We also identified the most troublesome airport – the one with at least 100 flights during the reporting period and the highest percentage of delayed flights – for each airline.
#16. Endeavor Air Inc.
– On-time flights: 91% – Airport with the most delayed flights: Orlando, Florida: Orlando International
“Belonging to Delta Endeavor Air, which operates Delta Connection aircraft, may be under the radar; but it has the distinction of having fewer delayed flights than any US carrier on our list,” Stacker said.
#16. Hawaiian Airlines Inc.
– On-time flights: 91% – Airport with the most delayed flights: Orlando, Florida: Orlando International
“Because so many Hawaiian airlines flights go to the 50th state, where weather delays are relatively rare, its punctuality is exemplary. Hawaiian, in fact, consistently tops on-time performance lists and receives the fewest complaints about cancellations, overbookings and baggage handling issues,” Stacker said.
#15. Delta Air Lines Inc.
– On-time flights: 88% – Airport with the most delayed flights: Kahului, HI: Kahului Airport
“Delta is the only airline in the top eight of our list to rank among the five largest US airlines: second in passengers carried and miles flown, third in fleet size and fifth in number of routes and destinations. The infrequent delays are one of the reasons why Fodor’s ranks it as the 1st American airline. Its flights to Kahului, Maui, where airport expansion has been debated for decades, are most often delayed,” Stacker said.
#13. Horizon Air
– On-time flights: 87% – Airport with most delayed flights: Dallas, TX: Dallas Love Field
Horizon, Alaska Airlines‘, serves dozens of destinations in the western United States, Canada and Mexico, with Milwaukee being the only destination east of the Mississippi.
“Light air traffic in western outposts, such as Wichita, Kansas; Walla Walla, Washington; and Dillingham, Alaska, be on time most of the time; only two of the 10 US airports with the worst punctuality statistics are in the West. Horizon also flies to a handful of major Western cities, bringing those stats down. Its hubs are Seattle, where it started as a small regional carrier, and Portland, Oregon, while Dallas is where you’re most likely to be delayed on a Horizon flight,” Stacker said.
#13. Republic Airways
– On-time flights: 87% – Airport with the most flight delays: Lansing, MI: Capital Region International
The airline operates regional flights on behalf of United Express, American Eagle and Delta Connection. “Republic gets credit for its solid on-time performance percentage, even though the airline enjoys flights to and from quiet airports like Bangor, Maine and Lansing, Michigan, where snow and ice on the runways contribute to the frequency of delays,” says Stacker.
#12. PSA Airlines Inc.
On-time flights: 86% – Airport with most delayed flights: Traverse City, MI: Cherry Capital
Message of public interest operated for a few years in the 1990s as an independent airline, but now operates aircraft exclusively on American Eagle regional routes, according to Stacker. “Virtually all of its nearly 100 destinations are small towns in the eastern half of the United States. This focus on small towns like Traverse City, Michigan, where winter weather delays make it the busiest airport problematic airline, generally keep delays to a minimum,” Stacker said.
#ten. Air Envoy
– On-time flights: 85% – Airport with most delayed flights: Burlington, VT: Burlington International
,Envoy primarily flies to smaller cities, serving more than 150 destinations in North and South America, making it American Airlines’ most active regional partner. “The Burlington, Vermont snows can be blamed for Envoy’s poor on-time performance percentage there,” Stacker said.
#ten. SkyWest Airlines Inc.
– On-time flights: 85% – Airport with the most flight delays: Panama City, FL: Northwest Florida Beaches International
“Because it serves so many masters—operating flights for America, Alaska, the United States and the Delta—SkyWest is the busiest regional airline in the United States. the airline has delayed more than 1,300 flights in October 2021 due to a server outage,” Stacker said.
#9. Alaska Airlines Inc.
– On-time flights: 84% – Airport with the most flight delays: Adak Island, AK: Adak
“It’s safe to say that if an airline can go to Alaska, it can go anywhere; and Alaska Airlines has indeed “succeeded” as a major carrier in Canada, Mexico and most of the other 49 states. Of the major airlines, only Delta has a lower percentage of delayed flights. True to its roots, Alaska still flies to tiny Adak Island (pop. 326), where frequent delays can be attributed to high winds off the Aleutian Island and 173 foggy days a year,” said said Stacker.
#7. American Airlines Inc.
– On-time flights: 83% – Airport with most delayed flights: Lubbock, TX: Lubbock Preston Smith International
No US airline carries more passengers than American. Its point performance isn’t bad, though its rivals Delta and Alaska do better. In addition to 230 American destinations, the giant flies to 121 foreign destinations in 62 countries on all continents except Africa. A recent $42 million renovation Lubbock Airport can help end its status as the worst destination in the United States for delays.
#7. United Airlines Inc.
– On-time flights: 83% – Airport with the most delayed flights: Aguadilla, PR: Rafael Hernandez
United paid a record $1.9 million fine last year for subjecting passengers on 25 flights between 2015 and 2021 to long tarmac delays, according to Stacker.
“And it hasn’t really improved over the years, slip from an on-time record of 85% (third best among major US airlines) in 2010 to 83.75% (only seventh best) in 2020. Delays in not-so-friendly US skies are the most common in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, because it’s a popular beach town with a single gate and a 1930s runway To replace“, said Stacker.
#6. Mesa Airlines Inc.
– On-time flights: 81% – Airport with the most flight delays: Montgomery, AL: Montgomery Regional
Mesa is a medium-sized airline that operates jets for American Eagle and United Express.
“In 2010, it became the first US regional airline to use large jets exclusively, with most flights carrying passengers from smaller airports to six US hub cities (Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Cincinnati, Louisville and Washington DC) . If you’re eager to leave Alabama, however, you may need to calm down for a while as flight delays from Birmingham are common,” Stacker said.
#5. Spirit Airlines
– Punctual flights: 80% – Airport with the most delayed flights: Aguadilla, PR: Rafael Hernandez
"Yes, Mind played on a Little League team, he would receive the “most improved” trophy, Stacker said. “In 2017, it was dead last (68%) among the major US airlines for on-time arrivals. Moving up to fifth isn’t bad, although it’s still in the bottom half of our list. It is America’s largest ultra-low-cost airline and is set to merge this year with Frontier into a $6.6 billion contract.”
#3. Southwest Airlines Co.
– On-time flights: 79% – Airport with the most flight delays: Chicago, IL: Chicago O’Hare International
South West has endeared itself to many loyal passengers with its flexible ticketing policy and free checked baggage, but its propensity for delays nearly eclipses these benefits. And it’s no worse anywhere in the world than the famously frustrating Chicago O’Hare, where delays are quite common due to snow, torrential rain, lack of staff and just plain too many flights every day.
#3. Frontier Airlines Inc.
– On-time flights: 79% – Airport with the most delayed flights: Newark, NJ: Newark Liberty International
“The border was #1 by far the number of complaints per passenger between July 2020 and September 2021. Those complaints weren’t just about delays, but his on-time performance is far from excellent, as you can see by his position in this ranking,” Stacker said. “Worst-case scenario: your flight is delayed for hours while you’re stuck in Newark, the US airport with the worst delay record.
#2. Jet Blue Airways
– Flights on time: 75% – Airport with the most flight delays: Ontario, CA: Ontario International
“Maybe there is a reason for this name. Too many JetBlue passengers sing the ‘Jet Blues’ as they wait, sometimes for hours, at their gates,” Stacker said. “The low-cost airline serves more than 100 destinations across the Americas (as well as London). Its punctuality record is affected by flights mainly to major cities with high air traffic volume, but so are most major airlines, which have better punctuality statistics.
#1. Air Allegiant
– On-time flights: 73% – Airport with the most flight delays: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: Myrtle Beach International
“If a baseball team wins 73% of its games, it is worthy of the World Series. But if an airline is only on time 73% of the time, it's... well, it’s Allegiant, which has a well-deserved reputation for delays and other issues (including an abysmal safety record revealed in a “60 Minutes” segment),” Stacker said.
“In its defense, it’s a very low-cost airline, so you’re basically paying for the high possibility of your flight not leaving on time. On the bright side, if you’re in Myrtle Beach, where delays are the most common, you may have time to hit the sand for an extra tan.