Air New Zealand punctuality climbs to 87.3 percent, ranking third in Asia Pacific
In September, 87.3 percent of Air New Zealand flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, up from 85.3 percent in August and 75.5 percent for the same time last year. The global average for airline on-time performance was 77.7% percent in September 2026.
The result also placed Air New Zealand third among Asia Pacific airlines for on-time performance in aviation analytics company Cirium's rankings for September.
The airline operated 13,072 flights during the month, with regional services delivering the strongest on time performance at 90.3 percent. Total cancellations fell to 1.4 percent, down from 2.5 percent in August and 3.3 percent a year ago.
Air New Zealand Chief Operations Officer, Kate Boyer, says the September result shows the airline's increased focus on the hundreds of smaller steps that determine whether a flight gets away on time.
"Customers count on us to get them where they need to go. Our airport and cabin teams make that possible by working together to get each flight ready to depart on time.
"That means being disciplined and focusing on the details. There isn't one silver bullet for punctuality – it's about getting lots of small things right, from having the aircraft ready, bags being loaded, crew being in position and customers boarding at the right time. Saving a minute or two at each stage makes a difference."
One example is a deceptively simple change to boarding. Earlier this year, Air New Zealand trialled a process called pre-staging general boarding, where airport and cabin crew teams work together to have the gate and customers ready so general boarding can begin as soon as the aircraft is cleared, making better use of the time available before departure.
On international flights from Auckland, the trial saw extended boarding delays reduce by around 45 percent and general boarding begin just under four minutes earlier.
Air New Zealand then tested the same approach on domestic jet services from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. While domestic flights generally have a shorter boarding process, the trial still saw boarding-related delays reduce by around 25 percent.
Following the success of the trials, from 1 October pre-staging has been an approved process across all Air New Zealand departures from New Zealand airports.
"The biggest learning has been about what we can achieve when our airport and cabin crew teams have a shared understanding of what excellence looks like and work together to get flights ready earlier," Kate says.
"Every minute matters when a delay to one flight can have a knock-on effect across the network. That's the kind of precision and discipline that sits behind a strong operation. We need to maintain this focus on finding opportunities to improve punctuality and reliability for our customers, particularly as we head into the busy summer period."
"87.3 percent is a strong result, but our focus is the other 12.7 percent. That's what keeps us looking for the next minute we can save," finishes Kate.
ENDS
Issued by Air New Zealand Communications
Email: media@airnz.co.nz │ Phone: +64 21 747 320
About Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand's story started in 1940, first taking to the skies between Auckland and Sydney on a flying boat - a Short S30. Known for its warm Kiwi hospitality, today, the airline has operating aircraft ranging from Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and Airbus A320s to ATRs and Q300s, offering customers comfort in the latest most efficient jets and turboprops. It's a modern fuel-efficient fleet with an average age of 9.9 years. Air New Zealand's global network of passenger and cargo services centres around New Zealand. In 2024, the airline flew more than 16 million passengers. Air New Zealand was named 2025 World's Safest Airline by the Australian rating service AirlineRatings.com, highlighting the airline's laser-focus on safety.
Air New Zealand has a well-connected domestic business, connecting customers and cargo to 20 different regions around New Zealand. Internationally, the airline has direct flights to major cities across Australia, the Pacific Islands, Asia and North America, and through its strong relationships with alliance partners, offers customers more choice and convenience to connect further afield to hundreds of destinations. Air New Zealand has a particular focus on sustainability and its Sustainability Framework helps guide the airline's efforts in tackling some of New Zealand's and the world's most complex challenges. Airpoints, Air New Zealand's loyalty programme, is seen as the most valuable loyalty programme in New Zealand with more than 4 million members. It allows members to earn Airpoints Dollars™ and Status Points for VIP benefits in the air and on the ground. Air New Zealand aircraft are proudly identified by its distinct tail livery of the Mangōpare, the Māori symbol of the hammerhead shark which represents strength, tenacity, and resilience.
About Star Alliance
The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance, based on a customer value proposition of global reach, worldwide recognition and seamless service. Since inception, it has offered the largest and most comprehensive airline network, with a focus on improving customer experience across the Alliance journey.
The member airlines are: Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, and United.
Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 16,000 daily flights to almost 1,200 airports in 186 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partners Juneyao Airlines and THAI Smile Airways.
For more information about Air New Zealand visit www.airnewzealand.com and for more information about Star Alliance visit www.staralliance.com