Delta topped long-time airline leader Hawaiian for on-time performance in December, as cancelations fell and on-time ratings for most airlines improved.

About 88.0 percent of Delta’s flights were on-time, compared to 87.9 percent for Hawaiian. AirTran Airways was third with 87.3 percent on-time flights.

Airlines were helped by better weather on the mainland compared to December 2013, when an early winter storm snarled traffic in southern plains states.

Stormy weather in Hawaii and California in December also caused flight delays and cancelations for Hawaiian.

There were no super-long tarmac delays for airlines in December, making 2014 the best year on record for fewest such incidents.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday that for all of 2014, there were 30 domestic flights with ground delays topping three hours. Under rules that took effect in 2010, airlines can be fined for such long delays.

The department says that in the year before the rules were put into place, there were 868 domestic flights stuck on the ground for more than three hours.