From Kiplinger · · 1m 50s
Holiday Flight Delays: Airlines Ranked
December holiday travel spikes delay risks but American and United minimize cancellation chances.
In brief
December holiday travel spikes delay risks but American and United minimize cancellation chances. American and United have lowest December cancellation rates at 0.75% and 0.97% respectively, making them best choices for holiday flights. Originally reported by Kiplinger.
December Travel Spike
December sees a major spike in travel as passengers race to visit family for Christmas, Hanukkah and other major holidays that happen that month.
December Delay Trends
Because of that increased travel demand, December is often (but not always) one of the worst months of the year for flight delays industry wide.
Cancellation Rates Drop
However, cancellation rates typically (but not always) go down that month.
Top Airlines Compared
I compared the on-time performance of eight major airlines for the month of December over the last 10 years: Alaska, Allegiant, American, Delta, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest and United.
Lowest Cancellation Rates
American canceled an average of just 0.75% of its December flights, and United at 0.97%.
Industry Average Cancellations
Both rates were well below the 10-year industry average of 1.63%.
Highest Cancellation Rates
Alaska's track record was the worst, with an average December cancellation rate of 2.34%, but Southwest (2.29%) and Allegiant (2.25%) weren't far behind.
Best On-Time Performance
Delta has managed to keep over 82% of December flights on time, the only airline in the comparison that managed to keep its average on-time performance above 80%.
Second Best On-Time
United and American kept just over 79% of their flights running on schedule over the holiday season for the last 10 years.
Worst On-Time Performance
JetBlue performed the worst, with an average December on-time rate of just 69% over the last decade.
Best Choices for Holidays
If you want to minimize your risk of not making it to your destination at all, opt for American or United this holiday season.
The key point
American and United have lowest December cancellation rates at 0.75% and 0.97% respectively, making them best choices for holiday flights.
