FlightStats Announces 2012 Airline On-time Performance Service Award Winners - NBC Right Now/KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA |

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SOURCE: FlightStats, Inc.

FlightStats recognizes operational excellence in five new categories including: Lowest Global Cancellations, Middle East and Africa Major Airlines, Pacific Major Airlines, South America Major Airlines, and Global Airline Alliances.

Portland, OR (PRWEB) February 19, 2013

FlightStats, the global leader in flight and airport information services, is proud to announce the winners of the FlightStats 2012 On-time Performance Service Awards. The OPS Awards program recognizes airlines around the world that achieve sustained operational excellence. Airlines are recognized for delivering the highest percentage of flights to their arrival gates within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time.

In 2012, FlightStats sought to offer a variety of unique ways to look at performance and service. Airlines compete via rewards and loyalty programs, service, routes, price and ultimately on-time performance. By looking at Lowest Global Cancellations we highlight those companies that are least likely to cancel a flight. This year’s look at Airline Alliances showcases the cumulative on-time performance by all the airlines affiliated with the alliance.

FlightStats continues to develop relationships and data agreements with key industry partners resulting in an ever-increasing level of flight status data coverage worldwide. “We have now reached a very high level of data coverage in most geographical regions allowing us to increase the coverage threshold required for an airline to be considered for an award to 90% for most award categories,” says Jeff Kennedy, the company’s co-founder and president. “Our increased data coverage also enabled us to evaluate and recognize airlines in several new regions spanning the globe.”

This is the third year in the history of the awards for Japan Airlines (JAL) to take the top spot. Not only have they won two previous times in the Major International Airlines but they also have been in the top five since the awards began in 2009.

“Achieving the sustained operational excellence necessary to be honored by the FlightStats On-time Performance Service Awards requires a focused effort from all employees,” says JAL’s Yoshiki Minami. “Striving for on-time excellence is much more than simply winning an award. It is a reflection of our commitment to providing a world-class traveling experience for our customers globally.”

The winners are as follows:

Major International Airlines
The Major International Airlines category includes airlines that fly a significant number of trans-oceanic or international flights spanning at least three continents with at least 30,000 flights operated annually.

Winner - Japan Airlines – 90.35% On-time

The other 4 Finalists are:

•     Air New Zealand
•     All Nippon Airways
•     KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
•     Scandinavian Airlines

Lowest Global Cancellations – New
Lowest Cancellation Rate Among Global Airlines (as defined by the Major International Airlines category).

Winner - All Nippon Airways (ANA) – .22% Cancellations

The other 4 Finalists are:

•     El Al Airlines
•     Emirates
•     Finnair
•     Singapore Airlines

North America Major Airlines
The North America Major Airlines category includes airlines based in North America and operating at least 30,000 scheduled flights annually within North America.

Winner - Alaska Airlines – 87.26% On-time

The other 4 Finalists are:

•     Airtran Airways
•     Delta Air Lines
•     Jetblue Airways
•     US Airways

North American Regional Airlines
The North American Regional Airlines category is comprised of airlines based in North America with service concentrated in certain regions, states and provinces in North America or serving a limited number of cities and operating at least 20,000 scheduled flights annually.

Winner - Hawaiian Airlines – 92.29% On-time

The other 4 Finalists are:

•     Compass Airlines (operating as Delta Connection)
•     Executive Airlines (operating as American Eagle)
•     Horizon Air
•     Mesa Airlines (operates as United Express, US Airways Express and as the low-cost inter-island services go! in Hawaii)

Europe Major Airlines
The Europe Major Airlines category includes airlines based in Europe and operating at least 30,000 scheduled flights annually within Europe.

Winner - LOT Polish Airlines – 89.35% On-time

The other 4 Finalists are:

•     Aer Lingus
•     Finnair
•     KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
•     Scandinavian Airlines

Europe Regional Airlines
The Europe Regional Airlines category is comprised of airlines based in Europe with service concentrated within a limited region of Europe or serving a limited number of cities and operating at least 20,000 scheduled flights annually.

Winner - Aegean Airlines – 93.02% On-time

The other 4 Finalists are:

•     Brit Air
•     KLM Cityhopper
•     Regional Compagnie Aerienne
•     Tyrolean Airways

Asia Major Airlines
The Asia Major Airlines category is comprised of airlines based in Asia and operating at least 30,000 scheduled flights annually within Asia.

Winner - Japan Airlines – 90.35% On-time

The other 4 Finalists are:

•     All Nippon Airways
•     Korean Air
•     Malaysia Airlines
•     Singapore Airlines

Asia Regional Airlines
The Asia Regional Airlines category is comprised of airlines based in Asia with service concentrated within a limited region of Asia or serving a limited number of cities and operating at least 20,000 scheduled flights annually.

Winner - J-Air – 92.85% On-time

The other 4 Finalists are:

•     ANA Wings
•     JAL Express
•     Japan Air Commuter
•     Japan Transocean Air

Middle East & African Major Airlines - New
The Middle East & Africa Major Airlines category includes airlines based in the Middle East & Africa and operating at least 30,000 scheduled flights annually within the Middle East and Africa.
*Flight status coverage threshold set at 80%.
Winner - South African Airways – 91.17% On-time

The other 4 Finalists are:

•     Etihad Airways
•     Gulf Air Company
•     Qatar Airways
•     Saudi Arabian Airlines

Pacific Major Airlines - New
The Pacific Major Airlines category includes airlines based in the Pacific and operating at least 30,000 scheduled flights annually within the Pacific.

Winner - Air New Zealand – 87.76% On-time

The other 3 Finalists are:

•     Jetstar Airways
•     Qantas Airways
•     Virgin Blue Airlines

South America Major Airlines - New
The South America Major Airlines category includes airlines based in South America and operating at least 30,000 scheduled flights annually within South America.
*Flight status coverage threshold set at 75%

Winner - Azul - Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras – 80.04% On-time

The other 4 Finalists are:

•     Copa Airlines
•     Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes
•     LAN Perú
•     TAM Linhas Aéreas

Airline Alliance - New
Alliances provide a network of connectivity and convenience for international passengers and international packages. Alliances also provide convenient marketing branding to facilitate travelers making inter-airline codeshare connections within countries. This award evaluates the cumulative on-time performance of all the airlines that operate within each of the three airline alliances – SkyTeam Alliance, Star Alliance and oneworld Alliance.

Winner - oneworld Alliance – 79.55% On-time

The other Finalists are:

•     SkyTeam Alliance
•     Star Alliance

Network - Global Airlines
The Network – Global Airlines category is comprised of airlines that fly a significant number of trans-oceanic or international flights spanning at least three continents with at least 30,000 flights operated annually and is inclusive of all code-share flights operated by other airlines (this includes airlines that are wholly owned subsidiaries or those that are operating flights based on contract/lease agreements on behalf of the airline marketing the flight).

Winner – All Nippon Airways – 85.46% On-time

The other 4 Finalists are:

•     Alitalia - Compagnia Aerea Italiana
•     Delta Air Lines
•     Japan Airlines
•     Scandinavian Airlines

About FlightStats
FlightStats is a leading provider of day-of-travel data services and applications to the travel industry and traveling public. The company delivers real-time global flight tracking and airport data services that power many of the world's most popular travel applications. The company also provides web and mobile applications to the FlightStats community, helping travelers to better manage their travel day. FlightStats' data is viewed by millions of people each month, and the company is constantly evolving to offer the best worldwide alerting and tracking services to travelers, including the agencies and developers who serve them. For more information visit http://www.flightstats.com or follow us on Twitter @flightstats.

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