The aggregate November on-time performance for North American carriers increased for a fourth month in a row, according to Cirium’s latest monthly report. On-time performance in November increased 1.8 percentage points to 81.9%, compared with October’s increase of 2.8 percentage points.

All but two qualifying carriers showed month-over-month improvement: Alaska Airlines’ on-time performance dipped 1.6 percentage points to 84.5% — still above the weighted average of North American carriers — and Spirit Airlines’ performance dropped nearly six points to 81%. 

In November, Southwest showed the sharpest month-over-month improvement, with an increase of  6.1 percentage points to 84.5%. All surveyed carriers reached at least 75% in November, except Air Canada, which was just short of that, at 74.9%.
Delta Air Lines in November again maintained its position at the top of the list, with on-time performance of 91.3%, the highest any North American airline has recorded since at least January 2022. United Airlines was second at 88.4%, with American Airlines in third at 86.7%. 

Delta, United and American, in that order, also topped the November on-time performance list among all airlines globally. No other North American carrier landed in the global Top 10.
North American airlines in November canceled 2,644 flights, down about 43% month over month. Each of the top five carriers on the North American on-time list completed at least 99.5% of their flights in November, led by Delta at 99.93%, according to Cirium.

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