July often marks one of the stormiest months for airlines as they plunge deeper into their busiest period ever, the peak summer holiday season. Over in the Asia-Pacific region, the demand for air travel blossoms, and airlines are bolstering capacity whenever and wherever possible, all while battling external operational challenges to upkeep their on-time performances.

Curious to know what airlines have been the most punctual in July and which carriers have fallen significantly short? With data from global aviation analytics firm Cirium based on the published on-time performance report for the month, here's all you need to know - although some entries and their performance ratings might surprise you.

Most punctual in the Asia-Pacific

Looking at the top 10 most punctual airlines within the region, sharing the crown at the top step of the podium are Timor Leste's Aero Dili and Sri Lanka's FITS Aviation, where they operated 62 and 142 flights in July, respectively, with 100% arriving on time. And not too far behind in second place was Garuda Indonesia, having operated a massive 5,123 flights, with 94.50% coming on schedule.

Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock

Vietnam's Bamboo Airways is closing the podium in third place, having operated 5,059 flights in July to achieve an on-time performance of 93.20%. Australia's Rex Airlines comes in fourth, having operated 6,167 flights, with 90.60% arriving on time. Naha-based Japan Transocean Air and Shizuoka-based Fuji Dream Airlines rank fifth and sixth, with the former having operated 2,122 flights, with 89.90% coming on time. The latter carrier operated 2,948 flights and achieved an on-time performance rating of 89.40%.

More Japanese carriers fill the top 10 list, with Solaseed coming in seventh place after operating 2,534 flights in July, with 88.80% arriving on schedule, and Tokyo-based regional carrier IBEX Airlines in eighth place, as it operated 1,736 flights in July, with 86.90% arriving on time.

Photo: Kittkun Yoksap | Shutterstock

Following the trend is Fukuouka-based hybrid carrier Star Flyer ranking ninth after operating 1,967 flights to achieve an 86.20% performance rate, and closing off this list of the top 10 most punctual carriers within the month is Japanese low-cost carrier Skymark Airlines, which operated 4,747 services, of which about 85.40% arrived on schedule.

A glance at the markets

Considering the overall regional average is 71.30%, Japanese carriers are dominant in the Asia-Pacific region - with 12 out of 14 carriers above the average on-time figure. However, the bigger carriers like Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have fallen considerably short of the smaller regional airlines, with a recorded on-time performance of 82.5% and 79.8%, respectively.

Over in the Indian market, AIX Connect had the best on-time performance after operating 6,126 flights, with 83.70% arriving on time. IndiGo followed closely behind with a performance rating of 81.9% after operating 58,152 flights, and Air India Express trailed even closer behind with a rating of 81.0% after operating 2,748 flights. Flag carrier Air India becomes the last Indian carrier above the regional average after operating 12,860 flights, with 71.30% arriving on schedule.

Photo: Anand Balaji | Shutterstock

While HK Express leads the North Asian market with 84.60%, Greater Bay Airlines follows far behind after operating 290 flights in July, with only 77.80% arriving on time. Taiwan's STARLUX Airlines is next, with 1,424 flights operated and an on-time performance of 76.10%. The remaining carriers above the regional average were China Airlines and Cathay Pacific, with a recorded on-time performance of 73.50% and 73.40%, respectively.

Over in the trans-Tasman market, Rex Airlines leads with the highest on-time performance and Link Airways struggles to follow behind with a rating of 79.70% after operating 810 flights in July. Australian regional carrier Link Airways scored 79.70%, while Air New Zealand operated 15,207 flights, with 79.10% arriving on schedule. Of the remaining carriers in this market, only Air Chathams, Jetstar Airways, and Virgin Australia failed to meet the regional average.

Photo: Michael Doran I Simple Flying

Given how July is always a peak month for airline capacity within the Asia-Pacific region, having most carriers achieve an on-time performance around the seventy percentile and above is undoubtedly well-noted. And albeit a regional average of 71.30% does not seem like much, it's still considerably different from the regional average in North America, which was 60.7% for July.

Source: Cirium