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Qantas has ended Virgin Australia’s months-long dominance in on-time performance.
The Flying Kangaroo bounded past its main domestic rival in June according to the latest BITRE data, with 81.2 per cent of QF-designated services (Qantas and QantasLink) departing on time and 80.4 per cent arriving on time, compared to 78.7 per cent and 78.0 per cent of VA services respectively.
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This is the first time since December last year that Qantas has been more reliable overall than Virgin; Virgin still beat Qantas on cancellations, however, with 1.6 per cent of VA flights cancelled compared to 3.5 per cent of QF flights.
Jetstar also performed comparatively well in June, with 78.1 per cent on-time departures, 79.6 per cent on-time arrivals, and 1.1 per cent cancellations.
Overall industry performance slipped back below long-term averages after two consecutive months of overperformance.
Across all participating airlines (Hinterland, Jetstar, Qantas, QantasLink, Rex Airlines, Skytrans, Virgin Australia and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines), on-time departures stood at 79.6 per cent and on-time arrivals at 79.0 per cent with 2.4 per cent cancellations, all worse than long-term averages of 81.8 per cent on-time departures, 80.7 per cent on-time arrivals, and 2.2 per cent cancellations.
Qantas Domestic was the best-performing individual airline for both on-time arrivals and departures, though Virgin Australia still outscored it on cancellations, and VARA once again recorded a month with no cancelled flights at all.
“Our domestic on-time performance in recent months has been at its highest levels since 2019 and this is a credit to the thousands of Qantas team members who deliver for our customers every day,” Ben Holland, head of Qantas’ integrated operations centre, said.
Virgin Australia noted that adverse weather and ground delays both increased in June, but chief operating officer Chris Snook nonetheless pointed to the airline’s 98.3 per cent completion rate for the month.
“For the first six months of the year, our average on-time performance rate of 82.1 per cent and average completion rate of 98.1 per cent were the highest of the major Australian airlines,” Snook said.
“This result reflects the strength of our operational planning and the dedication of our teams across the network.
“Although we may not lead the on-time rankings every month, our focus remains firmly on delivering a stable and reliable operation, while continuing to provide great value and choice for Australian travellers.”
On-time arrivals (per cent)
- Qantas and QantasLink – 80.4
- Virgin Australia and VARA – 78.0
- Hinterland – 88.1
- Qantas – 83.2
- Skytrans – 80.5
- Jetstar – 79.6
- QantasLink – 78.7
- Virgin Australia – 78.1
- Virgin Australia Regional Airlines – 73.6
- Rex – 70.9
On-time departures (per cent)
- Qantas and QantasLink – 81.2
- Virgin Australia and VARA – 78.7
- Hinterland – 92.4
- Qantas – 85.0
- Skytrans – 81.4
- Virgin Australia – 78.8
- QantasLink – 78.7
- Jetstar – 78.1
- Rex – 73.2
- Virgin Australia Regional Airlines – 68.1
Cancellations (per cent)
- Qantas and QantasLink – 3.5
- Virgin Australia and VARA – 1.6
- QantasLink – 3.9
- Skytrans – 2.8
- Qantas –2.8
- Rex – 2.3
- Virgin Australia – 1.7
- Jetstar – 1.1
- Hinterland – 0.4
- Virgin Australia Regional Airlines – 0.0
