After a significant month-over-month drop in December, on-time performance for North American carriers recovered in January, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
The carriers' weighted January on-time average of 73.2 percent was an increase of 5.4 percentage points compared with the prior month. On-time performance had declined for three months in a row.
All 10 reporting carriers registered month-over-month improvements in January.
Southwest Airlines was on top at 83 percent, a 9.6 percentage-point increase from December, the largest among carriers for the period. Alaska Airlines was second at 81.5 percent and had the second-largest gain at 7.5 percentage points. United Airlines rounded out the top three at 80.5 percent, a 5.3 percentage-point increase compared with December.
Air Canada had the smallest month-over-month increase at 2.8 percentage points to 56.4 percent, placing it last for January.
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United was sixth on the January global airlines on-time list, with Delta Air Lines 10th with an average of 79.4 percent. Aeromexico led the category at 87.5 percent.
Southwest, at 99.5 percent, was the only North American carrier with a completion factor above 99 percent. Alaska was second at 97.6 percent, followed by United at 97 percent.
The number of North American flights canceled in January was 34,161 compared with 14,322 in December. It was the global region with the most cancellations for the month.
A flight is considered on time if the aircraft arrives at the gate within 15 minutes of its scheduled arrival time.
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