Canadian airlines cancel fewer flights this summer

Canadian airlines cancelled fewer flights and saw more land on time in June compared to the same month last year.

According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, more than 2,000 flights — equivalent to 4.1 per cent of scheduled flights — were cancelled by Canadian airlines this June.

Last June they cancelled 6.4 per cent of scheduled flights, or more than 3,100.

Of Air Canada’s 25,000 scheduled June flights, about 1,600, or 6.4 per cent, were cancelled, an improvement over last June, when the carrier had a cancellation rate of 9.3 per cent, equivalent to more than 2,400 flights.

WestJet also saw improvements this June, with more than 200 of its 14,000 flights cancelled in June, a rate of 1.7 per cent.

Last year, it cancelled 4 per cent of its flights, or more than 500.

Porter Airlines was the only carrier that reported more cancellations in 2023.

It cancelled 175 of its 4,600 flights in June, at a rate of 3.8 per cent.

Last year, it cancelled 1.4 per cent of its flights, or 50 out of 3,500.

Post-pandemic travel

Labour shortages and a high demand for travel last year following the pandemic led to a wave of flight delays and cancellations.

While Canadian airlines have mostly improved their performance this year, they’re still not up to par with carriers in other countries.

Air Canada saw 53 per cent of its flights land on time this June compared to 41 per cent in the same month last year.

WestJet’s rate was 69 per cent this year, up from 57 per cent last June.

In comparison, U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines’ performance rate was 80 per cent in May.

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