airline problems

Air Canada on time arrivals rank near the bottom of top North American airlines

Aug 11, 2023 | 3:22 PM

PRINCE GEORGE — Delays are common when flying in Canada nowadays and now Air Canada has landed last among North America’s ten largest airlines, according to aviation data firm Cirium’s July on Time rankings.

Alaska Airlines number one, making 82% of its flights on time. WestJet ranked seventh with 62% of its trips on time. Air Canada at the bottom of the list, only landing 51% of its flights within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrivals.

McGill aviation management expert John Gradek says Air Canada has been very aggressive in putting out flights and prices to attract customers after the pandemic.

Both Air Canada and WestJet say weather, including thunderstorms, a shortage of air traffic controllers and strong demand, which can mean longer turnaround times.

Gabor Lukacs with Air Passenger Rights says there are no meaningful consequences for Canadian Airlines, which break the rules. Hence, no real incentive for compliance. So harsher penalties need to be issued and collected.

Lukacs is pushing the Canadian Transportation Agency to bring us in line with European Union law, which he says is the gold standard. When it comes to protecting air passengers due to its simplicity and the ease to enforce it.