America’s Most On-Time Airline Lands About 4 Flights in 5 on Time. The Worst Misses Nearly 1 in 3. Every Big US Airline, Ranked

Alaska Airlines is the most on-time airline in the US in 2026. From January to August, 78.6% of its flights arrived on time, according to the US Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report published in October 2026.

Delta Air Lines is a whisker behind at 78.0%, and it was the best of the eight in August, the latest month the DOT has published. At the bottom sits JetBlue: 67.3% on time, which means about one flight in three arrived late, was canceled or diverted.

This ranking covers the eight US airline networks the DOT still grades, ordered by their on-time arrival rate for January to August 2026. The August figures and cancellation rates sit beside them, because a year-to-date lead can hide a bad month.

1. Alaska Airlines: 78.6% on time

Alaska has led the DOT table all year, but the lead is shrinking. Through July it stood at 79.6%, and a soft August at 72.3% pulled it down to 78.6%, just 0.6 points ahead of Delta.

Alaska’s figure now includes Hawaiian Airlines. The two carriers have flown under a single FAA operating certificate since October 29, 2025, while keeping both brands, so the DOT no longer ranks Hawaiian on its own.

That matters because Hawaiian was the most punctual large US carrier of 2025, at 81.95% on time on the DOT’s operating-carrier count, while Alaska’s own operation managed 75.75%. If you want the head-to-head on more than punctuality, our Alaska vs Delta comparison covers fees, cabins and loyalty too.

2. Delta Air Lines: 78.0% on time

Delta is the steadiest airline in the table. It ran 78.1% on time through July and 78.0% through August, and its 77.0% in August was the best of any network that month.

It also wins on the second measure the industry watches. Cirium, which tracks flights worldwide, named Delta the most on-time airline in North America for 2025 at 80.90%, its fifth straight regional win, and the only US airline in Cirium’s global top 10.

If you fly from a city both airlines serve and the fares are close, Delta is the safer bet for arriving when the schedule says. Alaska’s year-to-date lead is real but small, and Delta beat it by 4.7 points in August.

3. United Airlines: 76.1% on time

United is a clear third, 1.9 points behind Delta and 3 points ahead of the pack below it. In August it ran 71.7% on time and canceled 1.6% of its flights, both mid-table results.

Among the three global network airlines, United finishes well ahead of American, which trails it by 3.1 points for the year so far.

4. Southwest Airlines: 73.1% on time

Southwest edges American by a tenth of a point for fourth place, at 73.1% against 73.0%. That is a statistical tie, so the tiebreaker that matters is cancellations.

There Southwest is far stronger. It canceled 0.8% of its flights in August, against American’s 2.7%, so a Southwest flight that runs late usually still runs.

5. American Airlines: 73.0% on time

American is the least punctual of the three big network airlines. It arrived on time on 73.0% of flights from January to August, and its August cancellation rate of 2.7% was the third highest of the eight.

Its August on-time rate, 70.6%, was close to the 71.5% average across the reporting airlines, so the summer did not hit American harder than most. The gap to Delta and United was built over the whole year.

6. Allegiant Air: 72.1% on time

Allegiant is sixth for the year but was the surprise of August, second only to Delta at 73.2% on time. It also had the lowest cancellation rate of any airline that month, 0.4%.

That makes Allegiant the budget pick for reliability. Against its closest low-fare rival, it finished 2.4 points ahead for the year, a gap our Allegiant vs Frontier comparison breaks down with fees and routes.

7. Frontier Airlines: 69.7% on time

Frontier arrived on time on 69.7% of its flights from January to August, about three in ten late, canceled or diverted. In August it fell to 64.4% and canceled 3.0% of its flights.

Frontier was also near the bottom in 2025, at 70.68% on the DOT’s operating-carrier count, ahead only of PSA Airlines, an American Eagle regional.

8. JetBlue Airways: 67.3% on time

JetBlue is the least on-time big airline in the US in 2026. It arrived on time on 67.3% of flights from January to August, so nearly one in three missed the 15-minute mark or never arrived at all.

August was worse still: 59.7% on time and 6.2% of flights canceled, the worst figures in the table on both counts. Our Delta vs JetBlue comparison shows what that gap means on the East Coast routes where the two compete.

Why every airline looks worse in summer

Summer pulls every airline down. July 2026 was the worst month of the year so far, with only 69.5% of flights on time across the reporting airlines, and July 2025 was the worst month of that year too, at 69.2%.

The year is also running slightly behind 2025. From January to July, 75.1% of flights were on time against 75.5% a year earlier, and 2025 itself, at 76.42%, was down from 78.10% in 2024. For the mechanics of how one late aircraft spreads into a day of delays, see why flights get delayed.

DOT vs Cirium: why the numbers differ

Search “most on-time airline” and you will often see Aeromexico, at 90.02% in Cirium’s 2025 ranking. That is a global list, and the US airlines’ Cirium scores are higher than their DOT scores for a simple reason.

Cirium counts only flights that operated, and it includes international flying. The DOT counts every scheduled domestic flight, and a canceled or diverted one counts as late. So Delta’s 80.90% for 2025 on Cirium’s count sits beside 79.12% on the DOT’s count for Delta’s own mainline flights.

Both use the same 15-minute line, and they agree on the shape. Delta and Alaska lead, and the budget carriers trail: Cirium put Alaska at 79.20% and Frontier at 72.14% for 2025.

Punctuality is one part of a good airline. For complaints, lost bags and bumping as well as delays, see our ranking of the worst airlines in the US.