Qantas again tops on time performance
Qantas has again edged out rivals to become the most punctual domestic airline operating in Australia, although its regional offshoot, QantasLink, cancelled the most flights.
Government figures for March show 88.5% of Qantas flights departed on time and 87% arrived on schedule. Virgin Australia followed with 85% and 83% respectively with Jetstar on 82% and 81%.
Tigerair brought up the rear with an ontime departure rate of 76% and only 71% arriving on time.
Qantas domestic chief executive Lyell Strambi said recent pressure on the group has failed to dent its operational performance.
"Qantas' punctuality record is one of the leading reasons Qantas customers continue to fly with us," he said.
Jetstar, meanwhile, achieved its best first quarter on time performance since 2010.
"We know that punctuality is critically important to our customers and this year we've challenged our team to deliver improved on time performance," Jetstar Australia and New Zealand chief executive David Hall said. "We've taken a good look at all the factors affecting our on time performance and subsequently improved boarding procedures and refined our schedule."
But it was a different story with the regional airlines where QantasLink fell behind both Regional Express and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines.
Rex led the way with 87% of flights leaving and 83% arriving on time, followed by Virgin Australia on 86% and 83% respectively. QantasLink meanwhile operated 82% of March services on time with 78% touching down on schedule.
QantasLink also has the highest cancellation rate at 2.7%, followed by Tigerair with 1.4%, Jetstar and Virgin Australia 1.3%, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines 1.2%, Qantas 0.9% and Rex 0.2%.
The most punctual route was Perth to Karratha with 97% of flights leaving on time while Hamilton Island to Melbourne had the highest cancellation rate, with more than one in 10 flights failing to take to the air.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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