Air Canada ended the year 2023 at the bottom of the list for its punctuality among large North American carriers, a new report says.
Aviation data company Cirium released its annual report on Tuesday ranking the most on-time airlines and airports across the world.
Among North America’s 10 largest airlines, Air Canada came in last place, with 63.17 per cent of its flights arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time, the report showed.
That means more than 138,000 of Air Canada’s planes arrived at the gate late by over 15 minutes after the scheduled arrival time.
Meanwhile, Calgary-based airline WestJet faired better, coming in seventh place with 69.29 per cent of its planes arriving on time.
Delta Air Lines ranked first with 84.72 per cent of on-time arrivals, followed by Alaska Airlines at 82.25 per cent and American Airlines (80.61 per cent).
United Airlines (80.04 per cent) took the fourth spot and Southwest Airlines (76.26 per cent) capped off the top five.
When it comes to the world’s 20 most punctual airports, none from Canada made the list.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport came in first place, followed by two Indian airports, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. An on-time departure of within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time was used for the airport ranking.
This is not the first time that Canadian airlines and airports have performed poorly compared with U.S. carriers when it comes to being on time.
In 2022, not a single Canadian airline made the top 10 list among large carriers in North America, according to data compiled by global air industry data tracking firm OAG.
No Canadian airport cracked the top 20 airports worldwide or the top 10 airports by region.
Canada’s challenging winter weather makes achieving parallel on-time performance north of the border difficult.
In preparation for this winter, Canadian airlines and airports say they have rolled out a series of new measures, including boosting staff, deploying advanced snowplows, using real-time weather monitoring equipment, and adopting other digital tools for passengers.
Air Canada previously told Global News it is fully staffed and has made advance preparations for the winter season, such as ensuring there is enough glycol to de-ice planes, its equipment is prepared for winter weather, and it has designated spare aircraft.
“Severe weather can impact our operations, but our top priority is to always operate safely, even if that requires delays or cancellations,” a spokesperson for the airline said in an emailed statement.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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