The country’s flag carrier is considered one of the most punctual airlines in the world.
Cirium, an analytics company for aviation and travel, released its performance report for airports and airlines in 2022.
Titled “The On-Time Performance Review 2022: Airlines and Airports”, the report offered insights into the airlines and airports that demonstrated operational excellence last year.
The Philippine Airlines landed at the fourth spot on the list of top-performing network airlines in the Asia-Pacific Region.
PAL received a score of 76.42% on-time arrival for 76,308 of the total flights carried. It also has a 77.13% score for on-time departures.
Overall, the most punctual airlines in the region are as follows:
- All Nippon Airways (ANA) – 89.79% for 278,600 flights
- Japan Airlines (JIL) – 89.39% for 278,931 flights
- Malaysia Airlines – 81.17% for 98,673 flights
- Qantas – 68.43% for 235,808 flights
- Virgin Australia – 66.69% for 132,735 flights
Network operation airlines are defined as those “operated by a major airline and include flights marketed by the airline but operated by an airline partner.”
Cirium also created a separate list for mainline operation airlines in Asia and the Pacific. These are defined as entities “operated by a major airline.”
Neither PAL nor any flag carrier classifies in this ranking.
The top five performers in mainline airlines are as follows:
- Thai Air Asia (FD)
- ANA
- JAL
- Juneyao Airlines
- IndiGo
Cirium explained that its on-time arrival criterion means “a passenger flight/aircraft arrives at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time.”
The rest of the review can be accessed here: The On Time Performance Review 2022 (cirium.com).
PAL’s ranking was cheered by some Filipinos online.
Some of them congratulated the flag carrier for this recognition.
“That erases the stigma of being called ‘Plane Always Late’. Congratulations,” one Facebook user said.
“Congratulations and kudos to the new management!” another commented.
Commentaries on top performers
In a commentary, Cirium cheered Japanese and Thai airlines for rising above the still-prevailing turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It noted that Japanese airlines, in particular, retained the optimum services that they deliver before the health crisis.
“ANA (NK) and JAL (JL) have been at, or near, the top of our Global and Asia Pacific Network categories ever since we started publishing these reports in 2010. The 2022 results are no different,” Cirium said.
“While they haven’t yet fully recovered in terms of capacity due to pandemic-related restrictions on international traffic in and out of Japan, ANA and JAL haven’t missed a beat when it comes to timeliness,” it added.
Thai Air Asia, meanwhile, managed to adapt to difficult times.
“In 2022, FD demonstrated extraordinary grit, determination and adaptability during another turbulent year marked by changing travel regulations, corporate restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings,” the report said.
Here are Cirium’s 2022 airline winners:
- Delta Airlines – North America
- Azul Airlines – Latin America
- Europe – Iberia
- Middle East Asia Mainline – Oman Air
- Middle East Asia Network – Qatar Airway
- Asia and the Pacific Mainline – All Nippon Airways
- APAC Network – Thai Air Asia
