More domestic flights are departing and arriving on time across Australia, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics" latest Domestic Airline On Time Performance annual report.
The report monitors the punctuality and reliability of major domestic airlines operating between Australian airports on competitive routes and summarises the on time performance of the overall industry, as well as individual airlines and airports.
The report found above-average performance for punctuality across the industry, although the rate of cancellations was also above the long-term trend.
85.8 per cent of domestic flights departed on time while 84.3 per cent arrived on or ahead of schedule, according to data for the 2014 calendar year.
The figures represent an improvement on the previous year, up from 81 and 79 per cent respectively, with cancellations also down to 1.5 per cent from 1.8 per cent of all flights in 2013.
However, cancellations were above the long-term average of 1.3 per cent of flights.
Of the major domestic airlines, Qantas achieved the highest level of on time departures for 2014 at 88.1 per cent, followed by Virgin Australia at 86.2 per cent, Jetstar at 82.3 per cent and Tigerair at 77.8 per cent.
The best regional airline for on time departures was Regional Express at 88.8 per cent, followed by Virgin Australia Regional Airlines at 86.5 per cent and QantasLink at 85.6 per cent.
Of the major airports, Perth and Adelaide were the most reliable in terms of on time flights.
The On Time Performance report is an important tool for policymakers in identifying bottlenecks, for airline passengers in making consumer choices and for airlines in identifying industry-wide issues.
For More Information
Domestic airline on time performance 2014 is available at www.bitre.gov.au/publications/ongoing/airline_on_time_annual.aspx