One-third of domestic flights on Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin still late

afr.com:

About a third of Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia domestic flights were late in October, new official statistics show.

Some 73 per cent of Qantas Group, including its regional carrier QantasLink, arrived on time compared with 68.8 per cent of Virgin Australia’s network, including its regional airline, according to the figures released by the Bureau of Infrastructure Transport Research Economics on Tuesday.

The number of delayed arrivals has remained stubbornly high even as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes. Bloomberg

Virgin achieved the highest level of on-time arrivals among the major domestic airlines at 68.6 per cent, followed by Jetstar at 68 per cent and Qantas at 66.6 per cent. The overall cancellation rate was 3.8 per cent, nearly double the long-term average before COVID-19 of 2.2 per cent. Before the pandemic, airlines averaged about 81 per cent on-time performance.

Issues plaguing the global aviation industry, including maintenance and staffing, have all contributed to the steady decline. Most analysts do not expect tight supply chain conditions to ease until 2027 at the earliest.

Cancellations were again concentrated on Sydney Airport, the nation’s biggest, where network issues cascade into other parts of the country.

The highest level of cancellations occurred on fights from Sydney to Armidale – 10.2 per cent of flights – followed by flights from Melbourne to Sydney, from Armidale to Sydney and from Sydney to Melbourne.

The BITRE statistics show more than 47 per cent of Jetstar flights from Melbourne to Adelaide were delayed. Some 42 per cent of those from Brisbane to Melbourne on the low-cost carrier left late, they show. From Melbourne to Brisbane, more than half, 51 per cent, were delayed.

QantasLink