Delta named the most punctual airline in 2022 in North America

Delta was the timeliest large airline in North America in 2022, according to an annual ranking by the flight data provider Cirium. 

Delta's 84.1pc on-time ranking bested runner-up Alaska Airlines, which arrived on time at an 81.4pc clip. 

Cirium uses the DOT definition for on time -- all flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. 

Perennial on-time stalwart Hawaiian didn't operate enough flights to make the Cirium ranking. But FlightAware data shows that the Honolulu-based carrier has been on-time 87.7% of the time so far this year. 

Delta had hiccups prior to achieving the top spot in the Cirium rankings. Domestic Delta flights, including Delta Connection-branded regional flights, were on-time 80.7pc of the time for the first six months of this year, according to DOT data. But the carrier's performance improved sharply after that, including an 88.5% on-time performance in September, which is the most recent month for which the DOT has published data. 

United was the third most timely airline at 81.26pc, followed by American (78.77%), Southwest (74.68pc), Frontier (68.99pc), JetBlue (67.13%) and Allegiant (66.49pc). The ranking did not include Spirit. 

Canadian carriers WestJet and Air Canada occupy the bottom of the ranking. WestJet has been on time 60.66pc of the time this year. Air Canada has an on-time record of 55.56pc.

Overall, 71.91pc of North America flights arrived on time this year. The statistics Cirium used for the annual ranking run through Dec. 15.

-B