US Airlines Are Becoming Less Punctual. Here's the Worst Offender.

If you’re flying a U.S.-based airline this year, build in some extra time into your schedule — because there’s a good chance it’s not gonna arrive on time.

That’s the conclusion reached in a new study on delayed flights by ClaimCompass, a service that files monetary claims on behalf of airline passengers who are delayed or inconvenienced. The company looked at the punctuality of 74 global airlines during the first six months of 2019, utilizing both in-house data and information aggregated from FlightStats.

Key findings in the study:

Delta was the most punctual U.S. airline (84.33% of flights arrived on time, a slight decrease from last year). It was also the highest rated U.S. airline in the survey, coming in 11th overall.
United had the biggest decrease (3%) in on-time performance and is the least punctual U.S. airline.
Overall, U.S. airlines are less punctual this year than last year.

However, the 10 most punctual airlines of 2019 globally are actually more punctual than they were in 2018, while conversely the least punctual ones got worse this year.

If getting somewhere on-time is important and you’re flying overseas, you may want to look into Ryanair, globally the most punctual airline.

Editor’s Note: RealClearLife, a news and lifestyle publisher, is now a part of InsideHook. Together, we’ll be covering current events, pop culture, sports, travel, health and the world. Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter.

Meet your guide

Kirk Miller

Kirk Miller is InsideHook’s Senior Lifestyle Editor (and longest-serving resident). He writes a lot about whisk(e)y, cocktails, consumer goods and artificial intelligence.