US Airlines: Chart of the Day: Supermajor DAL Most Consistent Operationally

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14 Aug 2026 15:42:59 ET │ 8 pages

US Airlines

Chart of the Day: Supermajor DAL Most Consistent Operationally

CITI'S TAKE

Investors occasionally ask us whether we see any evidence of

operational/execution issues (or opportunities) across airlines. Running

an airline is not easy, and mishaps can be very public as operational

meltdowns are quickly picked up by the news - but luckily that hasn't

been a major theme this summer. Less obvious is which airlines are doing

particularly well when things are generally going smoothly. Although the

data is lagged, so we don't emphasize it as an input into our estimate

revisions, DOT operational data can help paint a picture. Looking to the

data, noticeably, DAL has led airlines in on-time performance all year and

is generally a consistent leader on the measure; ALK performance has also

been strong (despite other issues), while trends at UAL/JBLU/AAL/LUV

have been less consistent. In particular, LUV/JBLU stand out as being

least consistent, having had the widest range in monthly on-time

performance YTD among major airlines.

John GodynAC

Max Lesnik

Figure 1. Monthly On-Time Performance for All Major US Airlines

© 2026 Citigroup Inc. No redistribution without Citigroup's written permission.

Source: Citi Research, Diio Mi, Department of Transportation