Revealed: The least punctual airlines flying from Britain
Wizz Air had the worst punctuality of the biggest airlines operating in the UK last year, an analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data has found.
The Hungarian no-frills airline has built a name for itself by serving a number of lesser-known Eastern European destinations with cheap fares from its base at Luton.
But according to a Press Association investigation it had the worst punctuality record of 2017, with flights 23 minutes late on average.
Low-cost rival Norwegian ranked second worst, according to figures from the CAA, the UK’s aviation governing body, followed by Vueling, Thomas Cook and BMI Regional.
The CAA data covered 44 airlines that operated at least 2,000 scheduled services from British airports in 2017, taking into account every flight excluding cancelled services. The average delay across all flights was 15 minutes.
Worst airlines for punctuality, according to the CAA
Wizz Air
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Vueling Airlines
Thomas Cook Airlines
BMI Regionl
Scandinavian Airlines was the most punctual, with flights departing just seven minutes behind schedule, on average, ahead of second-place Aer Lingus, followed by Air France, Alitalia and Delta Airlines.
A spokesperson for Wizz Air said that it invests heavily into time performance.
“It is... worth noting that a number of issues specific to the UK, including airport infrastructure, airspace congestion and slot restrictions, contribute to a significantly worse time performance on our UK routes compared to the rest of the our network,” the spokesperson said.
“In addition, we suffered from particularly severe winter weather in central and eastern Europe in 2017 which also contributed to the overall on time performance.”
This week Wizz, which claims to be the largest low-cost airline in central and eastern Europe, said its traffic for July had risen by 22.9 per cent compared to the same month last year. The carrier is on course to record a similar level of growth for the year.
A Norwegian spokesperson said air traffic control strikes across Europe and adverse weather “invariably impact punctuality” and are beyond its control.
Flight delays are an expensive business for airlines, as EU legislation governs the compensation due should passengers arrive more than three hours late at their destinations - from €250 on short flights to as much as €600 for long-haul flights. Travellers are also eligible for assistance, such as food and drink, when flights are more than two hours late and accommodation if an overnight stay is required.
At a glance | EU Regulation 261/2004
Earlier this year aviation analysts OAG released its annual report into airline punctuality and found that Japan Airlines is the world’s best performer, with 85.3 per cent of its flights leaving on time. British Airways ranked 11th, with 78.6 per cent of its flights departing no later than 15 minutes after the scheduled time, and easyJet 15th, with 74.8 per cent.
Plane delays | The world's least punctual airlines
On-time performance (OTP) is measured by a 15-minute margin. At the destination, airlines are marked on the time by which they reach the gate.
Pressure on airlines to be punctual has led to what experts call “schedule padding”, whereby carriers allow themselves more time than necessary when allotting flight times. That’s why, despite advances in technology, it takes longer to fly from A to B than it once did.
Are you being told the truth about flight times?
Take, for example, the short hop from London Heathrow to Edinburgh. Twenty years ago, according to previous research by OAG, every flight heading north was allotted a flight time of 75 minutes or less. These days a flight time of 90, or even 100 minutes, isn’t uncommon.
For the short hop from Madrid to Barcelona, most airlines quoted a flight time of one hour back in 2000. Now 75 minutes is the norm.
Solve the daily Crossword
