Air New Zealand ranked second in punctuality among Asia-Pacific airlines in fresh data from aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Cirium reports Air New Zealand achieved a 79.29% on-time arrival rate last year, trailing Philippine Airlines at 83.12% but surpassing Cathay Pacific and Qantas.
Cirium’s data covered more than 100,000 flights for each tracked airline.
Cirium Asia editor Ellis Taylor noted that Air New Zealand delivered punctuality gains last year, even amid engine challenges with its Airbus A320neo and Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleets.
“It appears to have proactively managed those issues by adjusting its schedule and keeping overall capacity flat while also bringing in wet-leased capacity towards the end of the year.”
Meanwhile, Air New Zealand Airports general manager Kate Boyer said the stronger performance stems partly from a new scheduling strategy rolled out across the airline’s regional network.
She added that the airline has been refining schedules to more accurately match the operational realities at various airports.
Boyer said a deeper grasp of aircraft turn times, or the duration planes spend on the ground between flights, played a key role too. Turn times can vary by airport, traffic levels, and the specific gates in use.
“For example, at Auckland Airport we know some gates require extra time for aircraft tugs to meet the aircraft, so we have allowed for that in the schedule.”
Boyer said the airline targets a spot in the global top five for on-time arrivals.
Globally, Aeromexico led in punctuality, followed by Saudia in second and Sweden-headquartered SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) in third.
Azul Brazilian Airlines and Qatar Airways completed the global ranking.