Which Southern California airport has the most on-time flights? (2023)

Folks love to hate on LAX. It’s gargantuan. It’s clogged. It seems to be perpetually under construction.

But as spring stirs our wanderlust and we plan summer travel know that, of Southern California’s seven biggest airports, Los Angeles International Airport is tops for on-time arrivals and second only to wee Palm Springs International for on-time departures (which isn’t really a fair fight).

Crazy, right?

LAX is the workhorse of SoCal airports, logging more than 15,000 incoming flights and 15,000 departing flights each month. That’s almost as much as the other six Southern California airports we examined combined.

San Diego’s one-runway “international” airport is SoCal’s second-busiest, logging more than 7,000 flights in each direction. Orange County’s John Wayne wraps up the “big three” with more than 4,000 flights in each direction.

Then there are the smaller airports. Burbank has more than 2,600 flights in each direction; Ontario, more than 2,000; Long Beach, more than 1,300. Palm Springs, more than 1,000. These numbers change from month to month, of course, hitting highs in the summer and on holidays.

All that practice apparently pays off for LAX. Among the big three, it had the highest percentage of on-time departures in 2022, at 80.8%, according to federal data crunched by yours truly. San Diego averaged 80.4%, while John Wayne lagged at 76.4%.

Lumping big and small together, Palm Springs (handling only a fraction of the traffic that the others do) led everyone with 81.6% on-time departures. All of the locals regularly best national averages.

For arrivals, though, LAX led the entire pack with 79.9% of flights landing on time. Next best was Palm Springs, Long Beach and Santa Ana.

“LAX is incredibly proud of the on-time performance record for both arrivals and departures at our airport,” said spokesperson Dae Levine by email. “As the busiest origin and destination airport in the world, this feat is only possible because of our exceptional airline partners. Simply put, we provide the infrastructure to allow the airlines to efficiently carry out their business, creating a seamless journey for our guests.”

The other airports weren’t quite so eager to engage.

What’s good?

Translated, travelers, this means that about 1 in 5 flights will be late. So pack patience and something to read.

“On-Time Performance is a widely accepted method of understanding punctuality for different modes of public transport, not just aviation,” says OAG Aviation Worldwide, which calls itself the leading data platform for the global travel industry. “It provides a standardized means of comparing how well one service provider operates according to its published schedule compared to another.”

Of course, myriad variables factor into on-time performance. Aircraft have mechanical issues. Pilots get sick. Bad weather in Chicago grounds the plane that was supposed to whisk you from California.

But the published schedule is part of a contract with customers, and individual airlines and airports have a big role to play in on-time performance — or the lack of it, OAG says.

“They need to be asking themselves why another airline or airport with just as challenging an external environment can perform better than they do?” the firm said. “Are there processes which need to be adapted? Is there something about the way departments and teams interact that holds back productivity?”

Delays affect productivity and cost airlines big money every year. On-time performance is “a powerful key performance indication,” and a way for customers to choose one carrier and airport over another.

So what’s good? Most in the industry say 80% or above, the analytics firm says.

Ten of the 20 most punctual airports in the world are in Japan, with Osaka International at No. 1 with 91.5% on time. LAX doesn’t crack that list.

But when looking at “mega-airports” — just the biggies — LAX vaults to No. 6 with its nearly 79% on-time performance. Tokyo International was best in the gargantuan category, at 88%.

Airlines have a lot to do with this, too, as folks trying to fly on Southwest during the holidays discovered. The most on-time carrier in the U.S. was Delta, followed by Alaska, United and American, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the U.S. Office of Aviation Consumer Protection.

Variables

So when you travel matters too, of course.

On-time performance slipped in the summer months, when everyone heads off on holiday, at all SoCal airports.

And it tanked in December, when between 30% and 38% of flights in Southern California were delayed due to storms and cancellations that rippled through the system for weeks.

Timing can be difficult: There’s not much wiggle room when your kids are only off from school during the summer and at the holidays, and entreaties to move Thanksgiving to May or October fall on deaf ears.

Which airport you fly out of, though, is well within your control.

Folks often pay a premium to fly out of John Wayne — so much smaller than LAX, so convenient, decent on-time performance. But the others can offer similar convenience and sometimes better performance — as well as the opportunity to drive against traffic to the airport if you time it right — sometimes at a better price point.

Then there’s LAX. Friends from Northern California refuse to fly into LAX, and really, that’s a shame. I’ve become a regular. I’ll make the longer drive to snag direct flights at lower prices, and the on-time performance is a plus. There’s a vast array of choices for when and where to travel, and, I’ll geekily admit, I’m enamored with the new economy parking structure.

Get on the mailing list and buy your spot in advance. You’ll get emailed discount offers of 10% or 20%. When you arrive at the structure, an unseen eye recognizes your license plate and the little arm automatically rises to let you in. “Star Wars” type-security robots roam the aisles. Hop on the shuttle bus and enjoy the dedicated lane that zips around LAX free from jockeying cars and aggressive hotel shuttles.

Wherever you leave from, here’s wishing you safe, happy, efficient and on-time travels.