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Who says quality on-air service has to come at a price?
Cirium just unveiled its monthly rankings of the top-performing North American airlines in terms of on-time departures, and among the recurring names we’ve come to expect from these types of lists like Delta, Alaska, and United, there was one low-cost airline that surprised us all.
At a time when flight cancellations across the country were up a whopping 84% (in May), a major budget airline (which, spoiler alert, is not Southwest) managed to post an on-time rate of more than 76.5 % to maintain, This will give those traveling on a budget this summer some much-needed peace of mind.
Which one is it?
JetBlue is America’s most punctual low-cost airline
In terms of cost-to-punctuality ratio, JetBlue is currently the best US airline.
Not only was the Long Island-based company able to outperform other budget competitors, but it surpassed even more expensive airlines like United and American in the race to minimize flight delays.
And remember: this is not a small operation that is easy to keep organized.
JetBlue handles approximately 30,000 flights per month, and the fact that almost 23,000 of them run smoothly is nothing short of impressive.
Even if you are one of the unlucky passengers with a delayed flight, the airline has a solid solution Cancellation and Delay Policy designed to make the whole experience much easier (and, more importantly, you could be entitled to hundreds of dollars in compensation if you play your cards right, so be sure to read that whole thing through).
But a major delay policy is far from the only JetBlue program you can take advantage of.
JetBlue has a fantastic loyalty program
Just over a year ago, JetBlue announced their brand new loyalty program, one that included free flights and comfortable upgrades.
This system, called TrueBlue, also included the airline’s partners – think JetBlue Vacations, American Airlines flights and Paisly.com.
The premise is simple enough.
You sign up for the program and start purchasing products and services as you normally would, and for every $100 spent you get 1 tile.
Once you collect 10, you can decide to spend them on a perk offered by the airline, such as early boarding, reserved seating, an alcoholic drink, a JetBlue vacation bonus, or a 5,000 point bonus.
There’s more to learn about the ins and outs of the program, so check out the article above for more information on how to best benefit from it – and trust me, you don’t want to miss out on one of the best airlines. loyalty points programs in North America.
Exciting new routes
Okay, so now that you know which airline you’re booking with this summer, the answer remains: where can you go?
The answer is: almost anywhere you want.
Not only does JetBlue already boast an impressive catalog of more than 100 destinations, but several new routes to some of the season’s most coveted destinations have been introduced in recent months.
The Dominican Republic, Mexico (Tulum, Cancun), Puerto Rico, St. Vincent, Bonaire and Belize are just a few of the beautiful hubs made much more accessible by JetBlue’s latest expansion.
While ticket prices vary depending on where you’re flying from and where exactly you’re going, it looks like you can get to most of these destinations for under $200 (prices vary depending on timing and demand).
Which airlines outperform JetBlue in terms of punctuality?
Let’s say you’re not too concerned about costs and just want to find an airline that gives you the best chance of avoiding delays during this hectic summer season.
Where do you book your flight?
The top choice remains Delta, which appears to refuse to let go of its title as North America’s most punctual airline.
Although Delta, like all its competitors, has experienced a decline in terms of on-time performance over the past month (81.04% from April’s 85.73%), it has still managed to hold on to the number 1 position with Alaska following closely behind. WestJet (a Canadian entry) comes third.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author, and not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included in the post.
