Time is money in business and with so much business in Asia requiring cross-border trips, the efficiency and on-time performance of your airline is critically important. After all who wants to be waiting around in an airport or circling overhead on a plane waiting to land? In the world of travel Asian airlines face unique challenges to be on-time.

In Asia the skies are crowded and landing slots are full at airports and yet among the Mega Carriers which include the world’s 20 largest, Asian carriers make up 6 spots. Japan Airlines and ANA of Japan are 1 and 2 respectively, while Turkish Airlines and China Eastern, China Southern and Air China round out the list.

It’s surprising to see 3 Chinese carriers as flights in China are notoriously delayed. However Beijing Daxing International Airport, the city’s second airport, will begin to come on stream and start trials later this year. The massive Terminal 3 of Beijing Capital Airport was only commissioned in 2008 ahead of the Olympics but is already overcrowded. The new airport will house China Eastern and China Southern and should help control delays in Beijing further improving one-time performance.

Among all Asian airlines included in the annual study by OAG, the world’s largest network of air travel, Hong Kong Airlines had the best performance.  As that airline grows their logistical challenges will as well, so it’ll be interesting to see how they maintain their network operations.