Delta Air Lines in December was the most punctual major U.S. carrier, with an on-time arrival rate of 84.8 percent,

according to FlightStats. On average, North American carriers in December delivered 76.4 percent of flights to the gate within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival time. Among the eight largest U.S.-based carriers, excluding regional partners, Alaska Airlines (81.9 percent), JetBlue (80.5 percent) and US Airways (77.3 percent) had above-average on-time ratings. Southwest Airlines (74.2 percent), United Airlines (71.3 percent), American Airlines (71.1 percent) and Virgin America (70.1 percent) had below-average ratings for December.