Delta named 2017’s most on-time global airline

Delta Air Lines has been named the world’s ‘most on-time’ airline by the aviation data and analytics company FlightGlobal FlightStats. The airline is the first U.S. airline to earn the industry-leading distinction in promptly sticking to its scheduled landing and take off time in the nine years FlightGlobal’s FlightStats has presented the awards, according to a release by the company. 
In 2017, Delta’s mainline operation saw 85.94 per cent of flights arrive within 14 minutes of the scheduled arrival time, which is the industry’s widely used definition of on-time, according to FlightStats.1
“We are extremely proud of what Delta Air Lines employees have been able to accomplish in service to our customers to drive a safe and reliable global operation,” said  Delta’s Executive Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Gil West. “The results reported by FlightStats are humbling and yet another proof point that Delta employees worldwide are redefining operational excellence. Hats off to all Delta employees who come to work every day looking for ways to make meaningful improvements to the airline and continue to differentiate ourselves from our competitors,” he added.
Delta was also recognized as North America’s most on-time major carrier—a title that takes into account the Delta Connection regional operation. FlightStats reports that Delta, together with its regional partners, saw 84.06 per cent of flights arrive on time in 2017, based on FlightStats’ analysis of flight status and arrival data pulled from over 600 global sources and data feeds.2
Delta flies more than 180 million customers annually on approximately 5,000 daily mainline and Delta Connection flights. The airline achieved its strong operational performance in 2017 despite a string of hurricanes in the U.S. and Caribbean, and a snow storm at Delta’s largest hub in Atlanta, Georgia in December. Still Delta recorded several company bests, including a record 242 days in 2017 without a mainline flight cancellation and 90 days in which mainline and Delta connection were cancel-free.