European Low-Cost Airline Benchmark – Overview and Contained Airlines
After initiating our new airline analysis series where we analyze the performance of leading airlines, we thought it is time to put data on a higher level. Therefore, we extracted some of the results and compiled them as a European Low-Cost Airlines Analysis. Actually, that’s the third part, since we already published a similar report for leading European airlines and Middle East Carriers. So here’s what’s contained?
- We looked at the number of flights the airlines performed from February to July 2021. Moreover, we put that into relation to more than 200 airlines.
- Moreover, we analyzed the on-time performance and again put it into context with all major global airlines.
- And finally, we looked at the airlines’ cancellation rates.
Here are the airlines that are contained in the Middle East Airline Analysis:
Airline | IATA |
---|---|
Ryanair | FR |
easyJet | U2 |
Wizz Air | W6 |
Vueling | VY |
If you want to dive into the detailed analysis of a single airline, here are the links you need:
European Low Cost Airlines – Analysis by Number of Flights
Overall Results
When looking at the number of flights, one thing becomes evident: Ryanair is currently playing in its own league. Since May, Ryanair has started to add flights to the schedule massively. The result: In July, Ryanair performed as many flights as easyJet, Wizz Air, and Vueling combined. Moreover, from the latest forecasts, we know that Ryanair will grow its flight volume in August again.
However, easyJet, Wizz, and Vueling also showed solid growth rates in June and July. Especially easyJet is now back above the 25,000 flight threshold.

Data Details
If you want to dive into the details, here’s the underlying data of the above chart.
Month | FR | U2 | W6 | VY |
---|---|---|---|---|
February | 3,334 | 3,458 ![]() | 2,514 | 1,260 |
March | 3,648 | 3,726 ![]() | 3,571 | 2,118 |
April | 8,357 ![]() | 5,464 | 4,534 | 2,991 |
May | 12,118 ![]() | 6,968 | 5,896 | 6,298 |
June | 38,355 ![]() | 12,310 | 11,441 | 10,100 |
July | 60,997 ![]() | 27,840 | 17,624 | 15,697 |
Global Ranking
The below chart is one of our favorites. It shows the ranking of the airlines compared to 200 other global airlines. Accordingly, the closer an airline comes to the x-axis, the bigger the airline is. We see a beautiful trend from very poor positions in February to excellent rankings in July for all of the four low-cost airlines. That is also robust evidence that the low-cost carriers have grown stronger than other airlines.
As the biggest of the four analyzed airlines, Ryanair re-entered the top 10 of the world’s biggest airlines in June and currently ranks 6th. Moreover, easyJet and Wizz Air entered the top 25 in July. Here’s a complete list of the world’s biggest airlines in July.

Data Details
If you want to dive into the details, here’s the underlying data of the above chart.
Month | FR | U2 | W6 | VY |
---|---|---|---|---|
February | 61 | 60 | 75 | 112 |
March | 67 | 66 | 69 | 96 |
April | 37 | 55 | 63 | 79 |
May | 26 | 49 | 56 | 52 |
June | 8 | 33 | 36 | 39 |
July | 6 | 12 | 24 | 28 |
European Low Cost Airlines – Analysis by Punctuality
With an increasing number of flights, punctuality is also back in the spotlight for many airlines — and passengers. Therefore, we’ve analyzed the arrival on-time performance of the carriers in the corresponding months.
Overall Results
Overall the biggest European low-cost airlines are doing a fantastic job when it comes to on-time performance. Except for Wizz Air, the airlines operated on a 90+ OTP level. Wizz Air, so far, seems to struggle with punctuality and fell below 70% arrival punctuality in July. Vueling, on the other side, delivers one of the world’s best performances.

Data Details
If you want to dive into the details, here’s the underlying data of the above chart.
Month | FR | U2 | W6 | VY |
---|---|---|---|---|
February | 88.5% | 90.9% ![]() | 74.2% | 93.7% |
March | 93.0% | 92.7% ![]() | 85.6% | 94.6% |
April | 94.2% ![]() | 94.9% | 89.5% | 97.0% |
May | 93.6% ![]() | 90.3% | 85.3% | 95.9% |
June | 92.8% ![]() | 89.0% | 83.0% | 94.6% |
July | 86.8% ![]() | 80.1% | 62.4% | 90.4% |
Global Ranking
From a global point of view, Vueling managed to rank among the top 20 most punctual airlines in three consecutive months. Wizz Air, on the other side, delivered one of the world’s weakest performances in July.

Data Details
In case you want to dive into the details, here’s the underlying data of the above chart.
Month | FR | U2 | W6 | VY |
---|---|---|---|---|
February | 80 | 17 | 142 | 21 |
March | 42 | 49 | 113 | 28 |
April | 36 | 32 | 81 | 13 |
May | 36 | 80 | 110 | 17 |
June | 39 | 70 | 122 | 15 |
July | 62 | 120 | 187 | 31 |
[rp4wp]
European Low-Cost Airlines – Analysis by Cancellations
Overall Results
When looking at the cancellation rate of analyzed airlines, two significant aspects are apparent:
Wizz Air Struggled in July
As already seen when looking at the punctuality performance, Wizz Air seemed to have serious problems in July. As a result, the carrier had to cancel almost 4% of its flights in July. That’s a tremendous figure.
Vueling with an Exceptional Performance
For four consecutive months, Vueling did not cancel a single flight – an absolutely outstanding performance. Moreover, that happened during a time when Vueling constantly added more flights to its schedule.

Data Details
In case you want to dive into the details, here’s the underlying data of the above chart.
Month | FR | U2 | W6 | VY |
---|---|---|---|---|
February | 0.5% | 0.3% | 1.3% | 0.0% ![]() |
March | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.0% ![]() |
April | 0.8% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.0% ![]() |
May | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.8% | 0.0% ![]() |
June | 0.1% ![]() | 0.3% | 0.8% | 0.1% |
July | 1.1% | 0.5% | 3.9% | 0.8% ![]() |
Global Ranking
Here is the global ranking of European Low-Cost airlines in terms of cancellation rates. Again, Vueling’s results are the one to highlight: The airlines ranked among the world’s top 5 airlines concerning regularity for four consecutive months. Moreover, the airline has to be considered as the world’s most stable airline May.

Data Details
In case you want to dive into the details, here’s the underlying data of the above chart.
Month | FR | U2 | W6 | VY |
---|---|---|---|---|
February | 97 | 40 | 78 | 3 |
March | 61 | 54 | 48 | 5 |
April | 85 | 56 | 64 | 3 |
May | 55 | 39 | 90 | 1 |
June | 45 | 73 | 103 | 45 |
July | 104 | 78 | 152 | 90 |
What Do You Think?
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Used Data
The shown information is based on OAG data and internal data sources. Rankings only included airlines that operated more than 300 flights in the respective month. However, the global benchmark includes all tracked flights. On average, 200 airlines are included in each month’s analysis. Whenever stated, EMEA refers to airlines based in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa.