The carrier's punctuality has deteriorated amid sweeping changes, leaving it far behind market-leader Delta and other North American carriers.
Southwest Airlines was the least punctual of North America's 10 leading airlines last month, with just 68.9% of its flights arriving on time. According to Cirium's latest On-Time Performance Report, almost one in three completed Southwest flights arrived at least 15 minutes behind schedule, putting the Dallas-based carrier well behind its competitors.
At the opposite end of the rankings, Delta Air Lines returned to first place with an on-time performance (OTP) rate of 86.9%, continuing a remarkable recovery from a difficult summer. Southwest's performance comes amid sweeping changes to its business model, including checked-baggage fees, assigned seating, and greater aircraft utilization, raising questions about the operational consequences of its transformation.
Delta's October performance represented a significant turnaround from July, when only 75% of its flights arrived on time. That figure improved to 79.2% in August, 82.5% in September, and 86.7% in October, an increase of nearly 12 percentage points. The result also placed Delta third in Cirium's global rankings, behind Hainan Airlines and Aeromexico.
United Airlines ranked second in North America at 84.06%, followed by WestJet at 83.56% and JetBlue Airways at 82.27%. American Airlines finished sixth at 80.10%, despite operating more flights than any other carrier in the regional ranking. The table below shows the complete October results, including the proportion of scheduled flights each airline completed.
Southwest finished 18 percentage points behind Delta and nearly seven points behind ninth-placed Air Canada. Its punctuality was also considerably below the 79.8% unweighted average across the 10 ranked airlines. Nevertheless, Southwest completed 99.5% of its scheduled flights, suggesting that its principal challenge was delays rather than cancellations.
Southwest's deteriorating performance coincides with some of the biggest changes in its history. The airline introduced checked-baggage fees in May last year, which coincided with a ten-point drop in on-time arrivals over a three-month period. Assigned seating and a new boarding process followed in January 2026, and over the past six months, its on-time performance has averaged less than 70%.
Regular readers of Simple Flying know that the move to assigned seating was anything but smooth, and the airline continues to try iron out some of the challenges. This was likely compounded by charging for checked bags, as this encourages more passengers to bring carry-on luggage, increasing overhead-bin congestion and boarding times.
CEO Bob Jordan acknowledged the airline's punctuality problems during the carrier's October 22 earnings call, despite praising its completion factor and baggage-handling performance.
"We've got a terrific completion factor, but OTP is not where we want it to be."
COO Andrew Watterson also explained that aircraft turnarounds were generally starting well, but the airline was losing valuable minutes toward the end of boarding. As a result, he outlined two procedural changes scheduled to begin in November, including how the airline handles bags checked at the departure gate, and allowing gate agents to use an iPad at the aircraft door to finalize the flight, rather than returning to the gate podium. More significant changes to crew reporting and operational schedules begin in January.
Cirium's airport rankings provide another perspective on operational performance. Six US airports featured among the world's 20 most punctual large airports in October, including four major Delta hubs. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) led the American contingent with 87% on-time departures, placing eighth globally, followed by Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW). Unlike the airline rankings, these figures measure departures rather than arrivals.
Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Delta's hubs at Minneapolis, Detroit, Salt Lake City and Atlanta all featured prominently, contributing to the carrier's market-leading punctuality. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) was particularly impressive, given the airport handled 67,149 flights during October, more than double the number of any other airport in the top 20. It is also notable that Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), given its well-documented struggles last year, has emerged as one of the top-performing US airports.
None of Southwest's major operating bases, including Denver, Dallas Love Field, Chicago Midway and Baltimore/Washington, appeared in Cirium's rankings. Data from PlaneTrack also indicates particularly weak Southwest punctuality in Denver and Las Vegas, both with only 63% of flights departing on time. With its operational overhaul continuing, the airline now faces mounting pressure to restore the reliability that helped establish its original reputation.