2025 Air Cargo Quality Report – Top Airlines, Routes & Market Trends
Delivery reliability in air cargo remains one of the most vital metrics for operational excellence and customer satisfaction. At CargoAi, we've tracked thousands of AWBs across over 230+ global airlines throughout 2025, using a standardized Delivery As Promised (DAP) methodology to assess industry performance. In this report, we spotlight the top-performing airlines of 2025, analyze delivery performance trends month by month, and share insights into the operational realities behind the data.
Global Quality Trends in 2025
While the year started strong and held steady through spring, performance gradually softened in the second half, culminating in the lowest DAP score of 58% in December, likely due to peak season pressures and disrupted trade flows.
January to March: Strong post-holiday recovery.April to June: Small decline in DAP. Volatility is likely linked to global trade policy shifts.July to September: Quality levels stabilize again. Carriers adjust to new network realities.October to December: Seasonal pressures push reliability lower, with December hitting a yearly low (58%).
Global Monthly Quality Index: YoY Comparison
Overall, 9 out of 12 months saw lower delivery quality than in 2024, with only February and August showing marginal improvements.
May to July emerged as the most volatile period, with sharp year-on-year drops of 4 to 5 points, pointing to stress in operational networks during shoulder and early peak seasons compared to last year.
Recovery momentum was muted despite fewer pandemic-related restrictions than the prior year.
| Month | DAP Quality 2025 | DAP Quality 2024 | Y.o.Y Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 64% | 67% | -3% |
| Feb | 65% | 64% | +1% |
| Mar | 63% | 65% | -2% |
| Apr | 65% | 66% | -1% |
| May | 64% | 69% | -5% |
| Jun | 62% | 67% | -5% |
| Jul | 61% | 65% | -4% |
| Aug | 64% | 63% | +1% |
| Sep | 63% | 64% | -1% |
| Oct | 63% | 66% | -3% |
| Nov | 61% | 63% | -2% |
| Dec | 58% | 58% | 0 |
2025 Route-Level Performance
On the top 50 larger routes (selected by a combination of number of shipments and airlines on the route), we highlighted the top and worst performers in terms of quality.
The contrast highlights how network geography, infrastructure, and handling complexity can significantly affect delivery reliability.
East Asia regional corridors dominate the leaderboard, including TPE to ICN, ICN to NRT, and NRT to ICN, each recording DAP quality of 93 to 96%. These high-performing lanes typically benefit from short transit distances, digitized hubs, and well-established ground handling coordination.
China to Europe lanes like TFU to FRA, PVG to FRA, and CGO to FRA recorded some of the lowest delivery reliability, ranging from 25% to 26% DAP. These long-haul corridors often suffer from multi-point handovers, customs complexity, and congestion at key European hubs.
Notably, CDG to ABJ (Abidjan) showed a 35% DAP with an average delay of over 22 hours, suggesting structural bottlenecks at African destinations with limited GHA capacity.
Top Performing Routes
| Route | Quality | Avg Delay in hours |
|---|---|---|
| TPE–ICN | 96% | -5.7 |
| ICN–NRT | 94% | -4 |
| NRT–ICN | 93% | -4.2 |
| ICN–TPE | 87% | -2 |
| PVG–HKG | 87% | -3.3 |
Worst Performing Routes
| Route | Quality | Avg Delay in hours |
|---|---|---|
| TFU–FRA | 25% | 9.1 |
| PVG–FRA | 26% | 7 |
| CGO–FRA | 26% | 3.8 |
| CDG–ABJ | 35% | 22.9 |
| CGO–AMS | 38% | 3.6 |
2025 Top Performing Airlines (DAP %)
This leaderboard reflects performance of the largest 30 airlines, ranked by their 2025 DAP score. Airlines with very low shipment volume were excluded for consistency.
Air China made the most significant jump with a +36.9 pt improvement over 2024.
TUI and American Airlines also posted strong gains, signaling process optimization and stronger digitalization.
Declines for Emirates and others reflect the cost of operating expansive networks under pressure.
| Rank | Airline | 2025 DAP (%) | Y.o.Y. Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Emirates SkyCargo | 71.20% | ▼ 4.4% |
| 🥈 | TUI | 68.90% | ▲ 4.4% |
| 🥉 | American Airlines | 67.40% | ▲ 1.9% |
| 4 | Air China | 66.40% | ▲ 36.9% |
| 5 | Royal Air Maroc | 64.80% | ▼ 0.9% |
Market Forces & Operational Insights (2025)
Behind the numbers lie deeper global forces. These key developments shaped performance trends:
U.S. De Minimis tariff reform (mid-year) caused a sharp disruption in Asia to US e-commerce flows, pushing reroutes and delays. Carriers had to reoptimize networks and adjust allocations, leading to delivery volatility in May to July.
Major airlines reshuffled capacity on the Transpacific & Europe lanes in response to changing demand. While helpful mid-year, these changes introduced network instability and recovery lags.
Strains on GHAs (Ground Handling Agents), especially in peak months, are leading causes for delays at key airports. Labor shortages, limited apron space, and operational congestion might be key culprits in Q4 performance dips.
The final quarter brought the year's lowest quality, with volumes surging in November and December. Airlines struggled to maintain delivery precision under high load.
Methodology Summary
A shipment is considered successful if Notified for Delivery (NFD) is made within 6 hours after the planned arrival. Calculated as % of AWBs delivered on time.
230+ airlines, global coverage.
Live tracking from CargoAi's global platform.
Airlines can only access their own performance data (no peer visibility).
For Airlines: Actionable Insights Await
Airlines have access to deeper insights via dashboards available on our CargoMART Airline app.
[Airline] Quality Worst Origins
| Origin | Quality | Avg Delay (h) |
|---|---|---|
| GRU | 31% | 34 |
| STR | 36% | 34 |
[Airline] Quality Worst Destinations
| Destination | Quality | Avg Delay (h) |
|---|---|---|
| DAC | 3% | 36 |
| ALA | 13% | 17 |
| AMD | 20% | 20 |
| CAN | 36% | 20 |
| MAA | 39% | 15 |
[Airline] NFD Delay Distribution
[Airline] Quality per Top Routes
| Route | Quality | Avg Delay (h) |
|---|---|---|
| GRU–KUL | 0% | 35 |
| CDG–DAC | 0% | 30 |
| MXP–DAC | 0% | 17 |
| GRU–MAA | 10% | 58 |
| CDG–ALA | 15% | 13 |
| GRU–CAN | 17% | 32 |
| LYS–ALA | 17% | 5 |
| GRU–DEL | 22% | 35 |
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© 2026 CargoAi. All rights reserved. The data, analysis, and insights presented in this report are proprietary to CargoAi and may not be reproduced, distributed, or published without prior written consent.
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