- Best Departure OTP and Highest Completion rate for the major Australian airlines in May.
- 13 days of OTP > 90% and 10 days with no cancellations.
- Most reliable major Australian airline in four of five months to date in 2025.
Monday, 23 June 2025: Virgin Australia has achieved the best monthly on-time departure performance (OTP) out of the major Australian airlines [1] with 86.9% of its scheduled domestic flights departing on time in May, according to results released today by the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE).
This was Virgin Australia’s best monthly on-time departure performance of the past two years, improving 7.7 percentage points in comparison to May last year, and exceeding April’s record result.
Virgin Australia also led the major Australian airlines for scheduled domestic flight completion rates at 99.2%, with fewer than one per cent of its flights cancelled during May.
Virgin Australia Chief Executive Officer, Dave Emerson said the result reflected a strong, business-wide focus on delivering a more reliable and consistent experience for guests.
“I’m thrilled to see Virgin Australia lead the major Australian airlines in on-time performance for May, a clear sign that our focus on reliability and laser focus on improvement is delivering results for our guests,” he said.
“To take out the trifecta of best departure and arrival on time performance, and the lowest number of flight cancellations of the major Australian airlines in May is an incredible achievement and I’m proud of the entire team who have contributed to our strong position.”
“We recognise that while we may not top the charts every month, we will always remain laser focused on providing a safe, reliable flying experience for all our guests. Thanks to the dedication of our incredible team that we continue to raise the bar.”
“It’s an exciting time for Virgin Australia as we pursue our ambition to become Australia’s most loved airline and results like this give our guests confidence that when they fly with us, they’ll arrive on time, with award-winning service and our signature Virgin Flair.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITOR
- Data based on the latest Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) report released today.
- Virgin Australia had 13 days with departure OTP exceeding 90%, a result not achieved since pre-COVID (May 2019).
- [1] Major Australian airlines include Virgin Australia, Qantas and Jetstar.
