Air New Zealand says 87.3% of its September 2026 flights arrived on time

Air New Zealand says 87.3% of its flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule in September 2026, placing it third among Asia Pacific airlines in Cirium's on-time rankings for the month, according to a release published on 14 October 2026.

The airline reports that the figure is up from 85.3% in August and from 75.5% in September 2025, compared with a global airline average of 77.7% for the month. It operated 13,072 flights in September, with regional services recording the strongest result at 90.3%. Cancellations fell to 1.4% of flights, from 2.5% in August.

Part of the improvement is linked to a trial in which passengers are staged before general boarding. Air New Zealand says extended boarding delays on international flights from Auckland fell by about 45%, and boarding-related delays on domestic jet services from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch by about 25%. Since 1 October 2026, pre-staging has been an approved process for all its departures from New Zealand airports. Chief operations officer Kate Boyer said the focus remains on the flights that still do not leave on time.

The figures are the airline's own account of a single month and do not predict punctuality on any particular flight. Passengers should keep checking their flight status with Air New Zealand on the day of travel.