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What are the best and worst airlines and airports for cancellations and delays in 2024?
The year began with a spate of Alaska Airlines and United cancellations following the January 5 incident where Alaska flight 1282 lost a door plug; as a result, the FAA ground Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. Then in July, the CrowdStrike outage resulted in a number of flight cancellations and delays, which hit United hard, but Delta even harder.
On the airport front, there's a nearly 14 point difference between the average percentage of on-time departures between the best airport, Washington Dulles (IAD) and the worst airport, Baltimore (BWI).
Worst Airlines for Cancellations, YTD 2024
- Alaska (2.9%)
- United (2.2%)
- American Airlines (1.9%)
- JetBlue (1.8%)
- Hawaiian Airlines (1.3%)
- Delta (1.1%)
- Southwest (0.9%)
If January was excluded, the ranking for February-August 2024 would have been:
- American Airlines (1.9%)
- JetBlue (1.8%)
- United Airlines (1.4%)
- Delta and Hawaiian Airlines (Tie; 1.2%)
- Alaska (0.8%)
- Southwest (0.6%)
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Best Airlines for On-Time Arrivals, YTD 2024
- Hawaiian Airlines (81.8%)
- Delta (79.9%)
- Southwest (76%)
- United Airlines (75.8%)
- Alaska Airlines (74.2%)
- JetBlue (70.2%)
- American Airlines (68.8%)
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Best Airports for On-Time Departures, YTD 2024
- Washington Dulles IAD (81.1% on-time)
- Salt Lake City SLC (81%)
- Minneapolis St. Paul MSP (79.5%)
- Los Angeles LAX (79.4%)
- Detroit DTW (78.9%)
- Atlanta ATL (77.6%)
- Phoenix PHX (77.4%)
- New York LGA (77.3%)
- San Diego SAN (77%)
- Boston BOS (76.9%)
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Worst Airports for On-Time Departures, YTD 2024
- Baltimore BWI (67.1% on-time)
- Miami MIA (67.3%)
- Fort Lauderdale FLL and Dallas DFW (tie: 68.1%)
- Charlotte CLT (69.5%)
- Houston IAH (70.7%)
- Orlando MCO (70.9%)
- Chicago Midway MDW (71.9%)
- Denver DEN (72.7%)
- San Francisco SFO (72.9%)
- Las Vegas LAS (73.1%)
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If you can, avoid flying American Airlines given its worse record than other carriers for on-time arrivals and flight cancellations (Alaska and United were worse this year, due to the 737 Max 9 issues, but let's hope this doesn't repeat).
In terms of airport on-time departures, the worst ones so far in 2024 have been Baltimore, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte, and Houston, while the best have been Washington Dulles, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles.
What have been your best and worst airlines in 2024 in terms of delays and cancellations?
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