Philippine Airlines (PAL), the country’s flag carrier, secured the number one spot for on-time performance (OTP) in the Asia Pacific region in April, according to a report by Cirium, a well-respected aviation analytics firm based in London.
Cirium said PAL was the second most punctual airline in January 2025 and October 2024, and ranked third place in March 2025 as well as in November and December 2024.
For on-time performance, Cirium tracks a flight as being on-time if the aircraft arrives at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time.
The arrival data is a standard reliability metric reflecting the desire of travelers to reach their destinations on time and the need for airlines to comply with assigned airport slot times.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to continue enhancing reliability across all aspects of our business, with safety as the cornerstone of our operations,” PAL senior vice president for operations Capt. Roland Narciso said.
“We sincerely appreciate the recognition for the consolidated efforts of our flight and ground teams, employees, service partners and industry stakeholders in achieving this on-time performance milestone,” he said.
PAL operated over 9,900 flights carrying 1.3 million passengers in April, with April 22 posting 337 flights, a record-high frequency count in a single-day since the 2020 pandemic.
PAL’s 86.07 percent On-time Performance was five percentage points higher than the average OTP of 81.01 percent logged by the top ten Asia-Pacific airlines in April, and several points higher than all North American airlines in the same Cirium punctuality report.
PAL also clinched the #1 Most Punctual Airline spot in January 2024 with an on-time performance of 86.85 percent. The Philippine flag carrier placed 7th in the Top Ten over-all OTP standings that same year, having been ranked 8th place in 2023.
PAL’s leading performance came at a time of “improvement in the operational landscape”, according to Cirium, coinciding “with a significant 24 percent global reduction in flight cancellations.”