U.S. Airlines · min. 1,000 flights · 2020-2025

Airline Performance Rankings

ExpressJet Airlines leads at 89.8% on-time. Ranked by arrival within 15 minutes of schedule, the federal BTS standard, across 18 carriers meeting the flight-count floor.

Compiled by PlainFlights

Data updated 2026-06-13

38.3M
Flights analyzed: 73.7%
Lowest - Frontier Airlines

This is a historical BTS average, not a guarantee for any individual flight. Route mix affects these numbers, an airline flying more weather-prone or congested routes will show worse figures independent of operational quality. See our methodology for how rates are computed.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, an agency of the Transportation Department, this ranking draws on on-time performance records from January 2020 through December 2025. See our methodology for how these figures are compiled.

Best On-Time Most Delayed Airline Rankings

The verdict

According to U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics data, ExpressJet Airlines leads all reporting U.S. carriers at 89.8% on-time, 16.1 points ahead of the least reliable on the list, and 7.3 points above the 82.5% median across the 18 ranked carriers. ExpressJet Airlines's 52,135-flight sample is thinner than most of the field, so this rate has more room to move than a high-volume carrier's.

89.8%
#1 - ExpressJet Airlines: 16.1 pts
best-to-worst spread: 82.5%
median of ranked carriers: 18
carriers ranked

Ranked by on-time arrival rate from BTS On-Time Performance data, 2020-2025. Minimum 1,000 tracked flights to qualify.

#1 ExpressJet Airlines

89.8%

on-time rate · 52,135 flights

#2 Endeavor Air

88%

on-time rate · 1,111,655 flights

#3 Horizon Air

85.7%

on-time rate · 200,419 flights

#	Airline	Flights	On-Time	Avg delay (when late)	Cancelled	Top cause
1	ExpressJet Airlines (EV)	52,135	89.8%	67 min	4,035	NAS
2	Endeavor Air (9E)	1,111,655	88%	81 min	24,980	Carrier
3	Horizon Air (QX)	200,419	85.7%	59 min	3,608	Late Aircraft
4	Republic Airways (YX)	1,812,114	84.9%	73 min	56,267	Late Aircraft
5	Delta Air Lines (DL)	5,242,763	84.6%	76 min	76,994	Carrier
6	SkyWest Airlines (OO)	4,343,656	83.6%	87 min	80,320	Carrier
7	Hawaiian Airlines (HA)	414,402	83.1%	57 min	5,623	Carrier
8	Mesa Airlines (YV)	410,786	83.1%	89 min	16,878	Carrier
9	Envoy Air (MQ)	1,521,802	82.5%	67 min	35,441	Late Aircraft
10	United Airlines (UA)	3,669,461	81.3%	76 min	69,861	Late Aircraft
11	PSA Airlines (OH)	1,300,525	81.3%	84 min	40,714	Late Aircraft
12	Alaska Airlines (AS)	1,292,316	80.8%	57 min	24,678	Late Aircraft
13	Southwest Airlines (WN)	7,582,834	80.4%	58 min	181,898	Late Aircraft
14	American Airlines (AA)	5,078,840	78.6%	85 min	119,543	Late Aircraft
15	Spirit Airlines (NK)	1,278,352	77.6%	74 min	28,009	NAS
16	Allegiant Air (G4)	694,895	75.3%	82 min	25,650	Late Aircraft
17	JetBlue Airways (B6)	1,366,470	73.8%	81 min	34,823	Carrier
18	Frontier Airlines (F9)	968,030	73.7%	80 min	23,192	Late Aircraft

Using this ranking

A national on-time rate is a starting point, not a guarantee for your specific route.

ExpressJet Airlines leads nationally, but check its performance on your specific route before booking. EV profile
Compare average delay minutes too; a similar on-time rate can hide very different delay severity. Most delayed
Route mix affects these numbers; an airline flying more congested hubs will show worse figures independent of operational quality. Best on-time airports

Rankings reflect BTS historical averages across all reported flights for airlines meeting the flight-count floor; individual routes and dates vary.

Every figure on PlainFlights is rendered directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no number is typed in by an editor. This ranking sorts airlines by on-time performance, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.