Australian Transport Minister Catherine King has criticized both Qantas and Virgin for their subpar punctuality in November. Referring to the recent BITRE data, which indicated on-time arrivals of 64.1 percent, on-time departures of 65.9 percent, and cancellations of 3.7 percent across all airlines – all of which are worse than the long-term averages – the Minister expressed that Australians are growing impatient with Qantas and Virgin.
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She stated, "Considering these extremely unsatisfactory results, it's not surprising that a large number of Australians are frustrated with our leading airlines. The Government, like all Australians, desires an aviation sector that upholds our nation's lifestyle, which means services must be dependable, competitive, and reasonably priced.
" In November, Virgin was the worst-performing airline, with 54.3 percent on-time arrivals and 57.0 percent on-time departures, along with a 6.2 percent cancellation rate. Qantas services, including QantasLink, had a 68.1 percent on-time departure rate and a 66.3 percent on-time arrival rate, with 3.3 percent cancellations, while Jetstar had 66.7 percent on-time departures and 67.8 percent on-time arrivals, with 2.7 percent cancellations.
The Flying Kangaroo has previously claimed to be the "most punctual major airline" in Australia. Minister King announced that the Government's Aviation White Paper, due to be published in mid-2024, will "lay the groundwork for the next wave of growth and evolution in the aviation sector". She added, "This will involve exploring ways to better safeguard consumer interests, whether through a more robust ombudsman model or other measures adopted in foreign jurisdictions. As Australians prepare for Christmas and holiday travel, the Government will be closely monitoring the performance of all our major airlines."