Time is money in business and with so much business requiring cross-border trips, the efficiency and on-time performance of your airline is critically important. After all who wants to be waiting around in an airport or circling overhead on a plane waiting to land? In the world of travel on time performance is the best marker on how efficient, convenient and dependable your travel will be.
Across the world the skies are crowded and landing slots are full at airports and yet among the Mega Carriers which include the world’s 20 largest, some carriers stand out for their ability to maintain great on time performance stats.
It’s surprising to see 3 Chinese carriers as flights in China are notoriously delayed. However Beijing Daxing International Airport, the city’s second airport, will begin to come on stream and start trials later this year. The massive Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital Airport was only commissioned in 2008 ahead of the Olympics but is already overcrowded. The new airport will house China Eastern and China Southern and should help control delays in Beijing further improving on time performance.
Of course airline on time performance is dependent upon many factors such as airports, routes and the airline’s own logistical capabilities. Included in the annual study by OAG, the world’s largest network of air travel, is a list of the busiest routes. As one would expect the burgeoning Asian market dominates this list.
These statistics show the challenges which airline executives and airport officials face in the future. The big question is how can the industry accommodate the growing numbers of travelers, particularly first time and budget carrier passengers? To maintain efficiencies and make sure that planes can actually take off on time, the industry is going to have to work together to increase capacity and improve passenger flow through security, boarding, baggage claim and customs.
