PAL named most punctual airline in Asia

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

January 6, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) ended 2025 as Asia’s most punctual airline, dominating in a region where some of the world’s finest operators are based.

Based on the on-time performance review of aviation analyst Cirium, PAL registered the highest on-time score in Asia-Pacific of 83.12 percent in 2025.

This marks the first time that PAL was named the most punctual airline in a region that is usually led by the likes of All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

PAL achieved this feat by being the most on-time carrier in Asia-Pacific for five months – in April, August, September, October and November. Overall, Cirium monitored 116,628 flights from PAL last year.

This means most PAL passengers arrived at their destination on time. Cirium assesses the timeliness of an airline based on how early their flights make it to designated gates.

Under Cirium standards, a flight is deemed punctual if it arrives ahead of schedule by less than 15 minutes, minimizing disruption in airport schedule and providing passengers more flexibility.

In Asia-Pacific, PAL’s closest competitor was Air New Zealand, which posted an on-time rate of 79.29 percent.

ANA placed third with 78.88 percent, Singapore Airlines came next with 78.58 percent, while Japan Airlines ranked fifth with 78.25 percent.

IndiGo landed sixth with 78.12 percent, followed by Cathay Pacific and Virgin Australia with 76.78 percent and 76.54 percent, respectively. Qantas settled at ninth with 76.51 percent, while Korean Air rounded up the leaderboard with 75.34 percent.

Globally, flag carrier Aeromexico is the most punctual airline for the second consecutive year, as it recorded a world-leading 90.02 percent. Saudia was far second with 86.53 percent, followed by Scandinavian Airlines’ 86.09 percent, Azul Brazilian Airlines’ 85.18 percent and Qatar Airways’ 84.42 percent.

Before 2025 ended, PAL took delivery of the first of its nine Airbus A350-1000s, considered as the most efficient widebody jet right now, to scale up its fleet for long-range flights, particularly to North America.

PAL can also sustain its on-time leadership with the expected arrival of more aircraft, including 13 A321s, the first batch of which would come in this year.