Vietnam Airlines, the national carrier, has been named among the top 5 most punctual airlines in Asia Pacific as of April 2024 by Cirium, a company specialising in aviation analytics.

According to a press statement by Cirium, the definition of an on-time arrival is when a passenger flight arrives at the gate within 15-minutes of the scheduled arrival time. Based on data from 11,108 flights, Vietnam Airlines achieved an on-time arrival percentage of 81.85 pc.

Cirium says that this is a remarkable result given a surge in demand for air travel continued to place significant pressure on airport infrastructure especially during the peak national holiday period from April 30 to May 1. The airline has also declared facing aircraft shortages due to engines being recalled globally for inspection.

Dang Anh Tuan

“Safety is the cornerstone of Vietnam Airlines’ operations and practices. Our priority is to upgrade service quality to provide better customer experience. Improved on-time performance is a crucial lever of operational excellence. To achieve this, we focus on operational solutions such as reasonable flight schedules; proactively working with authorities to be granted early and reasonable slots; ensuring smooth coordination among various stakeholders and factors such as weather; air traffic, airport operations; and even aircraft maintenance,” says Dang Anh Tuan, Executive Vice President of Vietnam Airlines.

The statement adds that Vietnam Airlines is among other international airlines such as Japanese airlines All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines and Peach Aviation and AirAsia (Malaysia) to figure on the list.

Earlier this year, Cirium’s On-Time Performance Review 2023 announced Vietnam Airlines as one of the top 10 most punctual airlines in Asia Pacific.

“More importantly, our ‘Upgrading Service Culture’ programme, implemented from the end of 2021, has enabled us to develop training and raise awareness among all employees in regards to maintaining a high punctuality index, thereby fostering greater trust and satisfaction among travellers. In addition to technology, our dedicated teams are able to efficiently manage their resources to ensure flights depart and arrive on schedule, especially in the dynamic and complex world of aviation,” Tuan adds.