European airlines receive the lowest score for punctuality

An AirHelp study conducted with Le Figaro shows the state of the airlines’ punctuality. And European airlines are not well ranked.

AirHelp, a service whose goal is to help delayed passengers to get compensation (and which we talked about here) has analyzed the punctuality of airlines on long haul flights over 2 years. Quite interesting results.

Delays are a reality, even a generality

First of all, we realize that the delays are a reality. Only one airline above 80% (Hong Kong Airlines), another one at more than 70%(Kenya Airways) and below the 17th rank it is less than 60% and only 45 airlines have a punctuality rate above 50%.

Most punctual airlines — Source : le Figaro

We find in the ranking of the airlines which have in general a good reputation of service but some disappoint like Emirates (30th).

Overall,the ranking is dominated by Asian, American and Gulf airlines.

The European leader (Iberia) is 10th, Austrian 17th and KLM 19th. After that, it’s a total meltdown..: Air Europa 32nd, Alitalia 34th, British Airways 40th, Air France 45th, TAP 52nd, Lufthansa 57th, Swiss 59th. A thought for EasyJet (64th).

As for Asiana, only 34% of its flights are on time.

What to think of these figures.

A ranking to be taken with a pinch of salt?

As soon as we talk about studies and rankings I am suspicious. In general, those who make it always have a message to pass on! In this case, to establish such a ranking when you are in the business of AirHelp is good marketing and it allows you to get known by potential customers.

I have nothing to question the veracity of the numbers, and while they don’t really reflect my experience, they are certainly true.

But then everything depends on what delay means. 5 minutes ? 1h ? Delayed departure? On arrival? It’s really not the same thing.

Not all airlines are equal when it comes to delays

In a delay there are two factors that can add up: the airline and the airport.

Some airlines are notorious for their disorganization and poor quality of service and to see them poorly ranked here is not a surprise.

But regardless of the airline, the airports from which they operate play a significant role in delays. When an airline has its hub at a very large airport such as Frankfurt or Roissy or even a totally saturated airport such as Heathrow the risk of a problem occurring is greater because of the size of the platform and because it operates on a massive scale, it will also have a large number of flights impacted at once. This explains Iberia’s good ranking.

If we put the name of the airports next to the name of the airlines we would see, I am sure, a certain logic.

In the meantime, as Airhelp reminds us, thepassengers who suffer delays of more than 3 hours can obtain compensation of up to 600 eurosper person, depending on the circumstances. The condition for this is that the airport of departure must be located in the European Union or that the airline concerned is based in Europe. To qualify, the airline must also be responsible for the delay. Travelers then have five years from the date of the flight delay to claim financial compensation. However, in certain circumstances, such as storms or medical emergencies, the airline is not required to compensate its customers.

Have a good flight!

Photo : delayed flight by Nuno Andre via Shutterstock