The most punctual airline in August was LATAM Airlines, according to a report on the Flightstats website, based on 1.35 million flights worldwide in August. Flightstats monitors information and data from airports and airlines all over the world. LATHAM is a South American airline that also operates flights between Israel and Santiago, the capital of Chile, with a stopover in Sao Paolo, Brazil. The report compared with actual landing time with the original timetable, with a late flight being defined as the actual landing time being at least 15 minutes later than the scheduled landing time. In second place in punctuality after LATAM was Russian airline Aeroflot, which also operates from Israel, followed by Singapore Airlines, which unfortunately does not fly to Israel, in third place.
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) was in 39th place among the 42 rated airlines, with 39% of its flights being late and an average delay of 51 minutes. El Al's passenger traffic in all directions totaled 640,000 passengers in August. Only three airlines were rated lower than El Al in punctuality: EgyptAir, Saudia, and TAP Air Portugal in last place.
El Al's performance in July was even worse. The most punctual airline in July was Aeroflot, followed by LATHAM and Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) in third. El Al's rating in July was 41 among 43 rated airlines. El Al flew 633,000 passengers in July.
The aggregate global proportion of late flights in August was 23%, and the average delay was 58 minutes. Passengers in such cases must put up with the delay, because under civil aviation law, passengers are entitled to compensation only for delays at least three hours on flights from Europe, or flights by a European airline taking off from any airport.
European Union law stipulates €250 in compensation for a late flight of up to 1,500 kilometers, €400 for a late flight of 1,500-3,500 kilometers, and €600 for a late flight of over 3,500 kilometers. Israel law is more forgiving toward airlines and less considerate of passengers: compensation is mandated only for flight delays of eight hours or longer. Compensation depends on the length of the flight: NIS 1,300 for late flights of up to 2,000 kilometers, NIS 2,060 for late flights of 2,000-4,500 kilometers, and NIS 3,100 for a late flight of over 4,500 kilometers.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on September 11, 2019
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019