Airline On Time Performance Statistics —Monthly

Summary — April 2023

For April 2023, on time performance over all routes operated by participating airlines (Jetstar, Qantas, QantasLink, Rex Airlines, Virgin Australia and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines) averaged 71.8 per cent for on time arrivals and 71.2 per cent for on time departures. The cancellation rate for the month was 3.9 per cent. The equivalent figures for April 2022 were 63.6 per cent for on time arrivals, 62.2 per cent for on time departures and 4.1 per cent for cancellations.

This month’s on time arrivals figure was significantly lower than the long term average performance for all routes (81.5 per cent) and the on time departures figure was also significantly lower than the long term average (82.6 per cent). The rate of cancellations was higher than the long term average of 2.1 per cent.

The Qantas network (Qantas and QantasLink combined operations) recorded 78.4 per cent for on time arrivals while the Virgin Australia network (Virgin Australia and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines combined operations) recorded 67.6 per cent. Qantas achieved the highest on time arrivals among the major domestic airlines at 73.7 per cent followed by Virgin Australia at 67.9 per cent and Jetstar at 59.7 per cent. Of the regional airlines, QantasLink recorded 81.5 per cent for on time arrivals, followed by Rex Airlines at 73.2 per cent and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines at 59.6 per cent.

The Qantas network recorded 77.4 per cent for on time departures while the Virgin Australia network recorded 67.3 per cent. Qantas achieved the highest level of on time departures among the major domestic airlines for April 2023 at 73.5 per cent, followed by Virgin Australia at 67.8 per cent and Jetstar at 57.1 per cent. Of the regional airlines, QantasLink recorded 80.1 per cent for on time departures, followed by Rex Airlines at 75.0 per cent and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines at 56.4 per cent.

Jetstar recorded the highest percentage of cancellations at 8.1 per cent during the month, followed by Virgin Australia Regional Airlines at 5.6 per cent, Qantas at 3.6 per cent, QantasLink at 3.0 per cent, Virgin Australia at 2.9 per cent and Rex Airlines at 2.8 per cent.

Airlines’ on time performance varies across the routes they serve. Individual route data by specific airline for 59 routes are shown on pages 9-21.

Of the 59 routes which met the criteria for on time performance reporting in April 2023, the Adelaide-Alice Springs route had the highest percentage of on time arrivals (93.4 per cent), while the Perth-Newman route had the highest percentage of on time departures (90.9 per cent). The Launceston-Brisbane route had the lowest percentage of on time arrivals (40.9 per cent), while the Melbourne-Darwin route had the lowest percentage of on time departures (40.2 per cent).

Cancellations were highest on the Sydney-Melbourne route at 9.5 per cent followed by the Canberra-Sydney route at 9.0 per cent, the Melbourne-Sydney route at 8.9 per cent, and the Sydney-Canberra route at 8.5 per cent.

Alice Springs Airport recorded the highest percentage of on time arrivals (93.4 per cent) and Emerald Airport recorded the highest percentage of on time departures (88.8 per cent). Mackay Airport recorded the lowest percentage of on time arrivals (62.9 per cent) and Broome Airport recorded the lowest percentage of on time departures (47.0 per cent). These figures only refer to reported routes and do not cover all flights at these airports.

Table 1: Total Industry On Time Performance for April 2023

Reporting Airlines Sectors Scheduled Arrivals On Time % Departures On Time % Cancellations %
Jetstar 7,419 59.7 57.1 8.1
Qantas - all QF designated services 19,620 78.4 77.4 3.3
Rex Airlines 6,237 73.2 75.0 2.8
Virgin Australia - all VA designated services 11,928 67.6 67.3 3.1
All Airlines 45,204 71.8 71.2 3.9
Individual operating entities
Qantas 7,969 73.7 73.5 3.6
QantasLink 11,651 81.5 80.1 3.0
Virgin Australia 11,393 67.9 67.8 2.9
Virgin Australia Regional Airlines 535 59.6 56.4 5.6

Figure 1: Total Industry On Time Performance by month from April 2020

Total Industry On Time Performance by month from April 2023