See also: Ryanair Fees And How to Avoid Them.
How Ryanair Achieved Their Good Punctuality Record
Ryanair is not a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) which is normally responsible for recording punctuality. We only have Ryanair's word on their punctuality. The key to Ryanair's good punctuality record is that they fly a lot of routes that no-one else flies. By doing so, they can make up flight times. Exaggerated flight times mean a flight that departs late will still arrive on time.
Ryanair says 88% of flights arrive on time - but they don't say how many depart on time.
Take my recent flight from Seville to Fez. The advertised flight time was one hour and twenty minutes. The flight itself only took 50 minutes. Are there any circumstances where this flight could take the advertised time? Of course not. The only explanation is that they want to artificially pump up their punctuality.
Should we Take Ryanair's Word for it?
Luckily, there is another organization that tracks airline punctuality: flightstats.com. Though they only analyse the 20 most common routes, their statistics show Ryanair to have a punctuality record far sort of the airline's own numbers - just 72%, compared to Ryanair's claimed 88%. Though this 72% still beats easyJet's 67%, Ryanair lose out to Vueling (83%) and Air Berlin (81%), making Ryanair Europe's third most punctual airline, at best, not the first (as they claim).
Thanks to one of my Twitter followers, @AirObserver, for helping me with the Flightstats.com information.
Ryanair's good punctuality record is just one of many myths going around about the airline, some espoused by Ryanair itself, some by its supporters and some even by its detractors. Read more Ryanair Myths.
