I've flown over two million miles with three different airlines, and I still can't decide if on-time performance is the real metric for a good flight or just the easiest one to measure. Last year, a six-hour delay saved us from a thunderstorm that grounded every flight behind us—was that a failure or good judgment? Add in food, legroom, and staff attitude, and 'punctuality' feels like a tiny piece of the puzzle. What actually makes you choose one carrier over another when tickets cost the same?