Statistics released earlier by Australia’s Federal Government’s Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics have confirmed Qantas Domestic as the most punctual major domestic airline for 2013.

The official figures also showed Qantas led the major domestic airline market every month in both on-time arrivals and departures in 2013.

This is first time Qantas, or any other airline, has been the most on time airline for 12 out of 12 months and is the fifth year in a row Qantas has recorded the best results.

Qantas Domestic chief executive Lyell Strambi said strong on-time performance results were a contributing factor to Qantas Domestic’s strong customer satisfaction levels.

“We know how important reliability and punctuality is to our customers so we are delighted to be consistently delivering on this year after year,” he explained.

“Last year saw Qantas finish almost six percentage points ahead of Virgin in departures.

“This equates to around 7,200 more on time flights than our competitor carrying over a million customers.

“All airlines operate in the same weather conditions and within the same airport environment, so the difference between our on-time performance and our competitors comes down to our dedicated people who work tirelessly to get our customers to their destinations on time.

“We recognise that our operational efficiency means our customers work schedules run smoothly and holidays start sooner.”