If you’ve flown more than a handful of times, you’ve probably had the experience of running through the airport to reach a connecting flight. Even a short delay in a tightly packed schedule can have a domino effect that ends in you missing your best friend’s wedding.
Some airlines run on time more consistently than others, such as these budget airlines with the best on-time records.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed all major airlines with information available on airline data website FlightStats. There are 21 major airlines where less than 20% of flights were delayed by 15 minutes or more in August 2019.
A trend in airlines operating more flights on smaller airplanes, rather than fewer flights on larger airplanes, has led to more congestion in airports, on runways, and in the air. The increased congestion causes more delays for all planes, who must wait their turn to lift off.
Despite the prevalence of flight delays, which are most often caused by the late arrival of a previous flight, the airlines on this list managed to keep their share of delayed flights low, unlike the airlines with the most delays.
Click here to see the airlines with the fewest delays
Source: Jaroslaw Kilian / Getty Images
21. Oman Air
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 19.6%
> Total flights in August: 6,297
> Average length of delay: 42.6 minutes
> Headquartered in: Oman
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Source: Jetlinerimages / Getty Images
20. Emirates
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 19.5%
> Total flights in August: 16,656
> Average length of delay: 39.3 minutes
> Headquartered in: United Arab Emirates
Source: Alf van Beem / Wikimedia Commons
19. SAS
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 18.8%
> Total flights in August: 24,464
> Average length of delay: 34.0 minutes
> Headquartered in: Sweden
Source: rypson / Getty Images
18. WestJet
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 18.6%
> Total flights in August: 22,398
> Average length of delay: 48.4 minutes
> Headquartered in: Canada
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Source: Alan Wilson / Wikimedia Commons
17. Avianca
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 18.5%
> Total flights in August: 22,181
> Average length of delay: 48.6 minutes
> Headquartered in: Colombia
Source: DaveAlan / Getty Images
16. Alaska Airlines
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 18.4%
> Total flights in August: 42,607
> Average length of delay: 47.2 minutes
> Headquartered in: United States
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Source: schulzhattingen / Getty Images
15. Garuda Indonesia
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 18.3%
> Total flights in August: 13,123
> Average length of delay: 37.6 minutes
> Headquartered in: Indonesia
Source: dabldy / Getty Images
14. Gol
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 18.3%
> Total flights in August: 22,020
> Average length of delay: 34.1 minutes
> Headquartered in: Brazil
Source: Mateusz Atroszko / Getty Images
13. Iberia
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 17.8%
> Total flights in August: 14,973
> Average length of delay: 41.3 minutes
> Headquartered in: Spain
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Source: Boarding1Now / Getty Images
12. Southwest Airlines
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 17.7%
> Total flights in August: 118,880
> Average length of delay: 51.1 minutes
> Headquartered in: United States
Source: Senohrabek / Getty Images
11. Air Arabia
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 17.2%
> Total flights in August: 6,553
> Average length of delay: 32.4 minutes
> Headquartered in: United Arab Emirates
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Source: Kristian1108 / Getty Images
10. SriLankan Airlines
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 17.2%
> Total flights in August: 3,748
> Average length of delay: 37.6 minutes
> Headquartered in: Sri Lanka
Source: Boarding1Now / Getty Images
9. Delta Air Lines
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 16.6%
> Total flights in August: 180,039
> Average length of delay: 70.7 minutes
> Headquartered in: United States
Source: herraez / Getty Images
8. Aerolineas Argentinas
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 15.3%
> Total flights in August: 10,674
> Average length of delay: 41.2 minutes
> Headquartered in: Argentina
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Source: NanoStockk / Getty Images
7. Air New Zealand
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 14.6%
> Total flights in August: 15,785
> Average length of delay: 36.9 minutes
> Headquartered in: New Zealand
Source: Matheus Obst / Shutterstock.com
6. Azul
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 14.2%
> Total flights in August: 25,200
> Average length of delay: 36.2 minutes
> Headquartered in: Brazil
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Source: studioportosabbia / Getty Images
5. KLM
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 14.1%
> Total flights in August: 23,097
> Average length of delay: 41.3 minutes
> Headquartered in: The Netherlands
Source: RyanFletcher / Getty Images
4. Singapore Airlines
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 14.0%
> Total flights in August: 7,887
> Average length of delay: 39.7 minutes
> Headquartered in: Singapore
Source: aapsky / Getty Images
3. Aeroflot
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 10.6%
> Total flights in August: 32,963
> Average length of delay: 50.6 minutes
> Headquartered in: Russia
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Source: Matheus Obst / Getty Images
2. LATAM Airlines
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 10.5%
> Total flights in August: 42,742
> Average length of delay: 42.6 minutes
> Headquartered in: Chile
Source: Angel Di Bilio / Getty Images
1. Copa Airlines
> Share of August flights delayed 15+ min.: 6.5%
> Total flights in August: 10,420
> Average length of delay: 58.6 minutes
> Headquartered in: Panama
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