Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) placed among the leading operators for on-time flights in Asia and the Pacific in March, with eight in every 10 trips arriving on schedule.

Based on Cirium's On-Time Performance Monthly Report, PAL ranked as the seventh airline in the region with the most number of on-time arrivals in March.

During the month in review, PAL flew a total of 8,772 flights, recorded a punctuality rate of 79.48 percent and tallied a completion factor of 96.15 percent.

All in all, PAL beat the on-time rate of Seoul-based Asiana Airlines (79 percent) and Air New Zealand (78.11 percent). Singapore Airlines, considered as one of the leading carriers in the world, landed behind PAL with a punctuality rate of 77.62 percent in March.

Across Asia and the Pacific, Indian airline IndiGo placed as the most punctual operator with an on-time rate of 89.02 percent. Japanese carriers All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines came in as next with 87.24 percent and 86.13 percent, respectively.

Vietnam Airlines ranked fourth on the list with 84.93 percent, followed by Thai AirAsia's 81.77 percent and Korean Air's 81.45 percent, according to Cirium.

In spite of this, Asia and the Pacific remains to be the region with the highest frequency of flight cancellations, increasing by 21 percent to 42,751 in March, from just 35,154 in February.

On a general scale, Cirium said airlines improved their on-time performance in March, but they faced various challenges ranging from seasonal travel surges to bad weather conditions.

PAL, for its part, is expected to enhance passenger experience with its plan to reactivate all 75 of its aircraft within the year. For 2023, the airline owned by taipan Lucio Tan plans to spend nearly double for capital expenditures, mainly for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of its fleet.

 

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