How US Airlines, Airports Performed Over Thanksgiving Holiday

by Patrick Clarke
Last updated: 12:20 PM ET, Mon November 27, 2023

The top U.S. airlines and airports improved upon their Thanksgiving on-time performance this year compared to 2022.

According to the latest analysis from leading global travel data provider OAG, the on-time performance of major U.S. airlines improved by one percentage point over last year's holiday, reaching 85.7 percent.

OAG examined the on-time performance of all airports and airlines on Thanksgiving Eve (November 22), which is one of the busiest travel days of the year. In 2023, airlines and airports overcame not only crowds but weather disruptions to improve upon last year.

According to OAG, nearly 18,400 flights arrived on time—within 15 minutes of the scheduled time—among the major U.S. carriers on November 22. Two airlines—Delta Air Lines (91.5 percent) and United Airlines (90.5 percent)—even achieved over 90 percent on-time performance across their domestic networks.

Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines also saw improvements over last year, with on-time performance rates of 89.4 percent and 89.3 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, fifth-ranked Southwest Airlines reported a dip from 88.5 percent in 2022 to 86.9 percent in 2023.

American Airlines (84.4 percent), Allegiant Air (84.2 percent), Frontier Airlines (76.2 percent) and Breeze Airways (62.3 percent) all improved upon last year while Sun Country Airlines (84.8 percent), JetBlue (64.8 percent), Spirit Airlines (61.7 percent) and Cape Air (33 percent) all lost ground compared to Thanksgiving Eve 2022.

People traveling through security at Denver International Airport

In terms of airports, the busiest hubs improved with an on-time performance mark of 88.4 percent in 2023 compared to 87.2 percent a year ago. Five of the major airports saw more than 90 percent of flights arrive on time on November 22, led by Denver International Airport at a punctual 94.7 percent.

Phoenix (93.9 percent), Los Angeles (93 percent), Las Vegas (91.1 percent) and Dallas/Fort Worth (90.9 percent) round out the top five.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport also improved from 88.3 percent in 2022 to 89 percent in 2023. However, Chicago's O'Hare, Atlanta, New York City's LaGuardia and Charlotte Douglas all saw their on-time performance dip on Thanksgiving Eve this year.

LaGuardia dropped nearly six percentage points from 86 percent to 80.2 percent while Charlotte dropped more than 17 percentage points from nearly 90 percent last year to 72.6 percent in 2023.