June 24, 2026
Airline NewsWestJet Tops North America for On-Time Performance and Cracks the Global Top 10
WestJet just landed a result worth talking about. According to Cirium's latest On-Time Performance Report for May 2026, the Calgary-based carrier flew 85.88% of its flights on time, finishing first in North America, seventh globally, and as the only Canadian airline anywhere in the worldwide top 10.
For those of us who love watching Canadian aviation grow, that's an impressive line to be able to write. Let me walk you through the numbers and why they matter.
First in North America
Source: Cirium On-Time Performance Monthly Report, May 2026.
That ranking puts WestJet ahead of every other carrier on the continent. Delta, Alaska, and JetBlue rounded out the North American top four at 82.70%, 82.30%, and 82.01% respectively, while Air Canada came in seventh in the region at 78.65%. Topping a list that includes the big US majors is no small feat for a Canadian airline.
A couple of supporting numbers stand out beyond the headline. WestJet posted a completion factor of 99.08%, meaning almost none of its scheduled flights were cancelled, and the airline logged seven zero-cancellation days across the month. It operated an average of 560 flights per day through May, so this is reliability at real scale rather than a quiet month padding the stats.
Seventh in the World
Source: Cirium On-Time Performance Monthly Report, May 2026.
On the global list, WestJet sat alongside heavyweights like Saudia, Qatar Airways, SAS, and Singapore Airlines, no small company to keep when you're measuring operational reliability. It was the only Canadian carrier to make the worldwide top 10, which is the part Canadian flyers don't often get to point to.
What makes the result more meaningful is that it wasn't a one-off spike. WestJet says every key operational metric it tracks improved year-over-year, with aircraft turnaround performance specifically seeing a double-digit gain. Turnaround time is one of those behind-the-scenes levers that quietly determines whether the rest of the day holds together, so improvement there tends to show up everywhere else.
A Calgary Connection
Source: Cirium On-Time Performance Monthly Report, May 2026.
There's a hometown angle too. YYC Calgary International Airport, WestJet's main hub, was named the ninth most on-time medium-sized airport in the world for May, posting an 87.12% on-time departure rate. With WestJet operating more than 70% of all flights at YYC, the airline and airport results are closely linked, and the airport's strong showing reflects that.
It's a good reminder that strong operations are a team effort. A smooth day of travel depends on the airline and the airport working in sync, and both delivered here.
The Bottom Line
For travellers, the takeaway is straightforward. On-time performance and a high completion factor are two of the better signals of how a trip is likely to go, and on both counts WestJet had a strong month. Cirium defines an on-time arrival as touching the gate within 15 minutes of schedule, so this is a meaningful measure rather than a generous one.
It's worth keeping perspective on the sample. This is a single month, and rankings move around as networks, weather, and operational conditions shift. WestJet itself sat at 82.80% in April and 67.50% back in March, so May represents a clear step up rather than a steady-state number.
Still, leading North America and breaking into the global top 10 is a result Canadian flyers don't get to celebrate very often. If you've got WestJet flights booked this summer, that's a good sign for your travel days ahead.
Happy travels!
Full report: Cirium On-Time Performance Monthly Report, May 2026.
