Air Canada ranks last for on-time performance in North America despite profitability
The country's biggest carrier landed 63 per cent of its flights on time last year, placing it last among the continent's 10 largest airlines.
Air Canada notched the worst on-time performance among large airlines in North America in 2023, according to a new report, even as the carrier surged back to profitability.
The country’s biggest carrier landed 63 per cent of its flights on time last year, placing it last among the continent’s 10 largest airlines. That means roughly 140,000 planes rolled up to the gate late — more than 15 minutes after scheduled arrival.
The score was five percentage points below the second- and third-lowest carriers, JetBlue Airways and Frontier Airlines, respectively.
Canada’s other major airline, WestJet, placed seventh in North America with a score of 69 per cent.
“When I joined the industry, good OTP was 75 per cent-plus,” said Willy Boulter, a Cirium advisory board member and 35-year aviation veteran.
Targets have gone up since. Delta Air Lines came first with an on-time performance (OTP) of 85 per cent, followed by Alaska Airlines at 82 per cent.
Better technology in areas ranging from jet engines to air traffic control have made on-time goals more achievable than ever, said Boulter.
Other, smaller airlines in Canada and the U.S. may have had worse on-time records than Air Canada’s, but weren’t included in the report due to their size.
Air Canada said its outcomes reflected challenges that affected carriers across the country last year.
“However, our operation has been consistently improving so that by year-end our monthly on-time performance showed a double-digit improvement over July, a significant increase,” said Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick in an email.
Forty-nine per cent of Air Canada flights in July arrived late, according to Cirium.
The airline’s focus remains on reducing the number of delays and cancellations in 2024, Fitzpatrick said.
In the past, the Montreal-based company has pointed to a shortage of air traffic controllers, bad weather and a network running at full tilt amid high demand, which can mean longer recovery times after a disruption.
CEO Michael Rousseau has acknowledged Air Canada’s relatively low ranking, including after a wave of flight delays in June and July.
Despite more staff and revamped technology, the carrier’s operations failed to meet “expected levels,” he told analysts on a conference call in August.
The chief executive identified “severe weather” — thunderstorms, in particular — and global supply chain issues as among the culprits.
He also acknowledged that high load factors — when all planes are almost fully booked — do result in more “spilling traffic” after flights are cancelled, as passengers scramble to rebook with competitors and may arrive hours or days later than planned.
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, noted that those challenges were not unique to Air Canada, despite its tardier track record. Air Alaska deals with inclement weather too, for example.
Air Canada is “counting on Canadians” to prioritize availability over punctuality, Gradek argued.
“It’s more important for us to be able to get a seat to Jamaica or to Dubai or to Bangkok, and the heck with the on-time,” he said. “And that’s a shame.”
Air Canada earned $2.08 billion in profit in the first three quarters of 2023. The resurgence followed 11 straight quarters of losses totalling $10.01 billion between 2020 and 2022, when demand for travel dried up due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
