It’s the night before my flight and I’m waking up at 1am, 3am, 4:35am. Finally, I wake at 5am to get up and catch my plane. It’s just a flight to Melbourne for work, but I always fear sleeping in and missing boarding time. After a night’s broken sleep, I arrive at the airport to discover a two-hour delay – extra precious hours of sleep that I’ll never get back.

The flight was cheap, but the inconvenience far outweighs the cash saved. Meetings are cancelled; scrambling occurs at the other end to make up for lost time.

Do some airlines run on time more than others? 

FlightAware collects the number of delays and cancellations on any given day from airlines and destinations around the world. The research reveals that some airlines have a better track record than others. Qantas Link and Rex were the most likely to run on time, each experiencing delays in only 10% to 14% of their scheduled flights, respectively.

Qantas and Virgin Australia, however, are much more likely to push off late. At 19% and 22% of delayed flights respectively, this represents about a one-in-five chance of your plane taking off late if you’re flying with either of these airlines. (Note that this data is captured daily, so these figures are an indication of just one day in the year.)

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Why do delays occur?

“Aggressive scheduling is a big factor in delays and cancellations,” explains Angus Kidman, travel expert at Finder. “But that leaves little room for catching up if delays happen because of weather or traffic.

“Staffing policies also have an impact. Airlines have struggled to recruit new staff after massive layoffs during the pandemic, and flights will be cancelled if crew members call in sick.”

Have flight delays and cancellations become more frequent?

They certainly have. Post pandemic, airlines are carefully watching their bottom line, and flying closer to full capacity. The Australian Federation of Travel Agents observes that international flight capacity used to sit at an average of 80%. It’s now about 95%, which means there are way less seats to rebook on.

How can I avoid delays?

Delays are, sadly, unavoidable. Between bad weather, issues on the ground and airlines deciding to cancel flights if the plane isn’t full enough, there’s not much that can be done.

But you can do a few things to lessen the chances of experiencing a delay, or the inconvenience that comes with it.

Book a morning flight

The first flight is more likely to leave on time compared with midday or 2pm flights, as delays have a knock-on effect for the rest of the day.

Check your flight status before you leave the house

If you see your flight is delayed, you’ll avoid going to the airport early.

Take out travel insurance

Although most people usually take out travel insurance for overseas holidays, it can be worth taking it out for domestic trips, too. Depending on the length of the delay, insurers can reimburse costs incurred, such as those for meals, accommodation, communication or transport.

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