After an increase of 7.1 percentage points in September, October North American airline on-time performance dropped 2.6 percentage points month over month to 80.3 percent, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
Canada-based WestJet moved to first place in October from third the prior month with an average on-time performance of 84.7 percent. Delta Air Lines was close behind at 84.5 percent. Air Canada, gaining five places, rounded out the top three with an 82.1 percent average.
The two Canadian carriers were the only two North American airlines in October with an increase in their on-time performance, with Air Canada gaining 1 percentage point and WestJet up 0.2 percentage points. Southwest Airlines lost 6 percentage points from September and fell to last place with an average of 75.5 percent. Other declines were between 1.8 percentage points and 3.7 percentage points compared with September.
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Each of the top three North American airlines—WestJet, Delta and Air Canada—made Cirium's global list of top on-time carriers. Aeromexico was in the top spot for a second month in a row with an on-time performance of 91.8 percent.
The carriers with the highest October completion factors included United Airlines (99.7 percent), Delta (99.4 percent), and WestJet and Alaska Airlines tying for third (99.32 percent).
The number of flights canceled in October was 6,042 compared with 5,364 for September.
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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