Almost every traveller, at some time or another, has experienced flight delays or even cancellations. And while it may be a rare occasion for some airlines, for others, it can happen more often.
Travel insurer Get Going has assessed the world’s airlines to find the most and least reliable carriers.
Taking into account five key factors such as percentage of flights delayed, average delay waiting time, percentage of flights cancelled, safety ranking and customer rating, Get Going published a list of reliable carriers and their opposites.
The study found that the most reliable airline was Japan Airlines, which had just 10.5 per cent of its flights being delayed and only 1.05 per cent cancelled.
KLM Cityhopper from the Netherlands actually had a lower number of delayed flights (9.6 per cent), but more cancellations (1.13 per cent) coupled with longer average wait times of 33 minutes.
Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo proved that not all budget airlines are ‘bad’, with just 14.7 per cent of flights delayed and only 0.07 per cent cancelled.
Rounding out the top five carriers were KLM and Azul Brazilian Airlines, with Emirates, Qatar, ANA (Japan), Jet Airways (India) and Finnair making up the top 10.
Denver-based low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines copped the wooden spoon, and is the least reliable airline of those studied, with almost three in 10 flights delayed and average wait time of 65 minutes.
Qantas was in the middle of the pack, placing at 27th, while budget carrier Jetstar ranked fourth last, with almost 28 per cent of its flights delayed.
“With people beginning to plan their holidays for the year, everyone wants to be reassured that things will go according to plan when they book their flight,” said Get Going spokesperson Josh Hancock.
“By updating our research this year, we hope that travellers can be confident in their choices and also avoid any unnecessary hassle that could potentially ruin what is supposed to be a relaxing and enjoyable time.”
With which airline do you fly? Do you notice more delays and cancellations than you’d like? Which do you think is Australia’s least reliable airline?
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