Summary

• Australian airlines Qantas and Virgin Australia declined in on-time performance in November, with only 62% and 54.2% of flights arriving on time, respectively.
• These numbers are significantly lower than the annual average for Australian airlines, which is 81.1%.
• Low-cost carrier Jetstar3, owned by Qantas and REX, was the most reliable airline in Australia for November, with 67.8% and 74% of flights arriving on time, respectively.

If you're flying down under, there's a high possibility that your flight won't depart on time if you're traveling with the two largest Australian airlines, Qantas and Virgin Australia, which marks a decline in service compared to 2022.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics, published by the Australian Financial Review, showed that for November, only 62% of flights operated by the flying Kangaroo (Qantas) arrived on time. Brisbane Virgin Australia's results aren't that great either, with just 54.2% of VA flights taking off and arriving as scheduled.

Being significantly lower than the annual average for Australian on-time performance (OTP), which sits at 81.1%, paints a scary picture of the factors that can lead to airline delays. November nationally saw 64.1% of all flights operate to schedule, compared to 66.2%, which were the results for November 2022.

Discover more aviation news for Australia and Oceania here.

Fed up with legacy carriers

As reiterated by Australian Transport Minister Catherine King, travelers are fed up with the delays the country's major carriers are encountering, and the figures are 'very disappointing.'

With this result, it's no surprise that REX took the title of 'most reliable' transport in Australia for November, achieving the result of 74% of flights arriving on time. Historically a regional carrier, the airline has catapulted itself into the headlines lately, acquiring multiple jet aircraft to take on interstate routes throughout Australia. Its cancellations for November sat at just 0.9% compared to Qantas Group (3.1%) and Virgin (6.2%).

Airlines are under immense pressure as they scale back up operations post-pandemic, and globally, carriers are dealing with staff shortages and the chance of strikes as employees push for better working conditions.

The minister, King, reiterated that the government may consider a review of the national aviation market as to what can be done to protect consumers further. He added that the transport department is already considering new legislation that would mean airlines must compensate passengers should their flight be horrendously delayed.

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Challenging conditions

Both Virgin and Qantas have hit back with their reasoning behind November results, with VA blaming a shortage of crew and aircraft maintenance challenges; however, a Virgin spokesperson did make this apology:

“We apologise that in November our operational performance was below our standards and did not meet all of our customers’ expectations.”

Qantas also stressed that the situation improved in December, having seen 70% of flights depart as scheduled, and was putting extra aircraft on backup to alleviate the stress on its Christmas schedule. A QF spokesperson noted:

“November was a challenging month operationally, with major storm activity on both the east and west coasts of the country and air traffic control issues. There were also a significant number of engineering related delays, with safety always coming before schedule.”

Smaller carriers, Bonza and Rex, recorded better results than their larger counterparts, with the new low-cost carrier, Bonza, based out of the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, and Melbourne, recording 73.9% of flights arriving on time, while Rex hit 70.5%.