# Holiday Flight Delays: Airlines Ranked

> December holiday travel spikes delay risks but American and United minimize cancellation chances.
- Title: Holiday Flight Delays: Airlines Ranked · Kiplinger | Shortify
- Summary: December holiday travel spikes delay risks but American and United minimize cancellation chances. American and United have lowest December cancellation rates…
- Keywords: american airlines, united airlines, delta airlines, allegiant airlines, frontier airlines, southwest airlines, december travel, flight cancellations, on time performance, holiday travel, Holiday, Flight
- Source: Kiplinger — https://kiplinger.com/personal-finance/travel/the-best-and-worst-airlines-for-holiday-flight-delays-and-cancellations
- Published: 2026-09-30T11:45:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: american airlines, united airlines, delta airlines, allegiant airlines, frontier airlines, southwest airlines, december travel, flight cancellations, on time performance, holiday travel
## 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.
## Key takeaway

American and United have lowest December cancellation rates at 0.75% and 0.97% respectively, making them best choices for holiday flights.