Qantas had the highest rate of on-time arrivals and departures for May in what was generally good month for all domestic carriers in terms of punctuality, new figures show.
The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) report showed 89.6 per cent of Qantas’s flights arrived on-time, while 90.8 per cent of the Flying Kangaroo’s domestic services pushed back for departure on-time.
Virgin Australia, which has been battling Qantas for punctuality honours over the past year, was next best with an 88.8 per cent on-time arrival performance and 90.3 per cent on-time departure performance in May.
The BITRE report defines a flight as on-time if it leaves or arrives within 15 minutes of the published schedule.
Meanwhile, Regional Express (Rex) was the best of the regional carriers, with 86 per cent of on-time arrivals and 88.5 per cent of on-time departures.
And it was a split decision in the battle of Australia’s two low-cost carriers. Although Jetstar edged out Tigerair Australia for arrivals (84.3 per cent versus 82.2 per cent), the Virgin-owned Tiger bested Qantas’s subsidiary Jetstar in terms of departures (84.6 per cent versus 84 per cent).
The BITRE report said it was a good month for all domestic travellers, with the on-time performance in May well above the long-term average for both arrivals and departures. Moreover, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines was the only airline not to improve its punctuality percentages in May, compared with the previous month.
On-time departures for May (figure in brackets indicates percentage point change from previous month)
Qantas 90.8% (+2.9)
Virgin 90.3% (+3.4)
Rex 88.5% (+3.0)
QantasLink 86.8% (+5.1)
Virgin Australia Regional 84.7% (-0.3)
Tigerair 84.6% (+3.8)
Jetstar 84.0% (+7.4)
Virgin network 89.2% (+2.7)
Qantas network 88.7% (+4.0)
On-time arrivals for May (figure in brackets indicates change from previous month)
Qantas 89.6% (+3.6)
Virgin 88.8% (+4.0)
Rex 86.0% (+3.9)
QantasLink 85.1% (+5.6)
Jetstar 84.3% (+6.4)
Virgin Australia Regional 83.4% (-0.2)
Tigerair 82.2% (+3.3)
Virgin network 87.8% (+3.2)
Qantas network 87.3% (+4.7)
(Source: BITRE)
