Best airline from Sydney (Mascot) to Melbourne
Most punctual on this route
82% on time across 6,623 flights · 5.15% cancelled
Virgin Australia is close enough behind (81.14%) that the two are effectively tied — pick on schedule and price.
Every airline on SYD to MEL, ranked
| # | Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qantas | 6,623 | 82% | 5.15% | D |
| 2 | Virgin Australia | 5,775 | 81.14% | 2.84% | C |
| 3 | Jetstar | 3,843 | 80.27% | 2.52% | C |
| 4 | QantasLink | 71 | 53.85% | 8.45% | — |
Why this is worth checking per route
An airline's overall punctuality is an average across everywhere it flies, and averages hide the thing you are booking. A carrier can be middling nationally and the best option on this particular pair of airports — because of which slots it holds, what time of day it schedules, and which aircraft feeds the flight.
On SYD to MEL the spread between best and worst is 28.2 points. Both carriers fly the same corridor, into the same weather and the same air traffic control — so a gap that size is a fact about the airlines, not the route.
Punctuality is one dimension of a good airline and not the one most people would name first. It is, though, the only one measured the same way for everybody and published by someone with no stake in the answer. Full SYD to MEL record → · Best time of year to fly it →