SAS, Norwegian and Finnair end up far down the list of the world's most punctual airlines when it comes to long-haul flights.
Around half of the flights reviewed were delayed or cancelled.
The measurement period extends from 2017 to January 2019 and focuses on flights that are five hours or longer. The average for the 75 airlines surveyed is not that impressive – more than half of the flights are affected by delays or cancellations. The worst result is for the South Korean company Asiana Airlines, where more than one in three flights was delayed or cancelled.
The Nordic representatives Finnair, Norwegian and SAS are positioned around the middle and in the lower half of the top list. The survey was conducted by the company Airhelp, whose business idea is to help affected travelers pursue claims against airlines.
”"These are surprising figures, even for those of us who work with delayed flights. Obviously, flight disruptions on long-haul routes are a widespread problem that the industry seems to have a lot to work on," says Airhelp's Sweden manager Andreas Hermansson in a written comment.
The least delayed companies are Hong Kong Airlines, Kenya Airways and Singapore Airlines, where the delay rate is 16.5 percent for the first, 28 for the second and almost 33 percent for the third.
”"It is remarkable that even the airlines that are best in this measurement do not have better delay figures. After all, there are some costs for the airlines when they are delayed, such as paying overtime compensation to staff, airport fees and rebooking passengers. It pays to be on time," says Andreas Hermansson.
Source: di.se
Punctual long-haul flights 2017-Jan 2019
Best companies SHARE OF DELAYED FLIGHTS %
1. Hong Kong Airlines 16.43
2. Kenya Airways 28.13
3. Singapore Airlines 32.96
4. Delta Air Lines 33.00
5. Japan Airlines 33.25
6. All Nippon Airways 33.86
7. Alaska Airlines 34.05
8. Etihad Airways 34.21
9. Spirit Airlines 35.72
10. United Airlines 35.73
——–
35. SAS 47.38
51. Norwegian 51.64
61. Finnair 55.00
Source: Airhelp
