'Air India third worst in punctuality'; airline trashes survey report

New Delhi: Domestic carriers Jet Airways and IndiGo ranked seventh and tenth, respectively, in on-time performance in Asia Pacific, according to a global airlines OTP survey report in which Air India remained third-worst in terms of punctuality. Jet Airways (76.1 per cent) and IndiGo (74.2 per cent) have been recognised among major Asia Pacific carriers including Japan Airlines, Virgin Australia, Qantas, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Jetstar. Japan Airlines with 87.33 per cent OTP was ranked number one in this category followed by Virgin Australia with 86.22 per cent at the 8th Annual Airline OTP Service Awards by flight tracking and mentoring services provider Flightstats. at the 8th Annual Airline OTP Service Awards by flight tracking and mentoring services provider Flightstats. On the other hand, government-run Air India was third in terms of worst OTP performer after Israeli carrier El Al and Iceland based Icelandair. However, an Air India spokesperson has trashed the OTP survey report, alleging that it was "fabricated". To determine the finalists and winners, FlightStats examines flight status and arrival data aggregated from global sources including civil aviation authorities, airlines, airports, and major airline reservation systems. Significantly, IndiGo has been ranked third at a time when its average on time performance from four major airports --Delhi, Mumbai-Bengaluru and Hyderabad -- declined to lowest in more than last two years in November and stood at a poor 72.4 per cent. "We totally disagree with the report published by an agency about Air India. Initially it seems that the report is fabricated so the Air India management will investigate the report till the end," airline spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar said in a statement.