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Air Canada ranks last for on-time performance in North America

A new report says Air Canada had the worst on-time performance among large airlines in North America in 2023.
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A new report says Air Canada had the worst on-time performance among large airlines in North America in 2023. A traveller looks at an Air Canada plane as he waits for his flight at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal, Friday, Dec. 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

A new report says Air Canada had the worst on-time performance among large airlines in North America in 2023.

Aviation data firm Cirium says the country's biggest carrier landed 63 per cent of its flights on time last year, placing it last among the continent's 10 biggest airlines.

The score was five percentage points below the second- and third-lowest carriers, JetBlue Airways and Frontier Airlines, respectively.

Amounting to roughly 140,000 tardy planes last year, the figure also marked the poorest on-time percentage of the airlines listed in the report, which spanned Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Middle East.

WestJet placed seventh in North America with a score of 69 per cent, while Delta Air Lines came first at 85 per cent.

Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau acknowledged the company's relatively low ranking after a wave of flight delays in June and July, pointing to a shortage of air traffic controllers, bad weather and a network running at full tilt amid high demand.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)

The Canadian Press

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