Is American Airlines on time? AA
Landing within 15 minutes of schedule, over the last 12 months.
Source: US Department of Transportation on-time records, which cover this airline's US flights. Last refreshed: 2026-10-07.
Year by year
Arrival punctuality, whole calendar years| Year | On time | Change | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 79% | 2.1% | |
| 2020 | 89% | +10 pts | 6.0% |
| 2021 | 83% | -6 pts | 2.2% |
| 2022 | 77% | -5 pts | 3.0% |
| 2023 | 77% | no change | 1.1% |
| 2024 | 74% | -3 pts | 1.5% |
| 2025 | 74% | no change | 1.8% |
| 2026part year | 74% | no change | 2.8% |
2020 looks like the best year here, and it was the worst year to fly. Empty aeroplanes run to time, and the flights that would have been late were cancelled instead: cancellations across the industry ran about three times their normal rate that year.
Month by month
| Month | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-07 | 67% | 2.3% |
| 2026-06 | 70% | 2.6% |
| 2026-05 | 77% | 1.5% |
| 2026-04 | 78% | 0.9% |
| 2026-03 | 75% | 2.0% |
| 2026-02 | 79% | 2.1% |
| 2026-01 | 76% | 8.9% |
| 2025-12 | 74% | 0.5% |
| 2025-11 | 77% | 2.1% |
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Busiest routes
| Route | On time | Worst 1 in 10 |
|---|---|---|
| DFW to PHX | 73% | about 60 min |
| PHX to DFW | 80% | about 41 min |
| DFW to LAX | 70% | about 60 min |
| LAX to DFW | 72% | about 59 min |
| DFW to ORD | 66% | about 80 min |
| DFW to MIA | 68% | about 71 min |
| ORD to DFW | 68% | about 83 min |
| MIA to DFW | 75% | about 58 min |
| LGA to DFW | 72% | about 76 min |
| DFW to LGA | 62% | about 84 min |
| DFW to LAS | 68% | about 73 min |
| LAS to DFW | 80% | about 49 min |
How these numbers are made
On time means the aircraft arrived less than 15 minutes after its scheduled time. Cancelled flights are not counted as on time, and they are not counted as late either. They have their own figure.
Worst 1 in 10 is the delay that one arrival in ten exceeds. An average hides the days that ruin a trip; this does not.
A route or an airline appears only once we hold enough measured arrivals for it. Below that the number moves too much on a single bad week to be worth printing.
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