More flights departed and landed on time at Denver International Airport in November 2008 than a year earlier, following an overall trend of improving airline performance.

DIA ranked ninth out of 32 major airports, posting an 87.1 percent on-time arrival record during the month, according to the latest data released by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. That compares with 83 percent in November 2007, when the airport ranked 11th.

Salt Lake City led the pack with 91 percent of its flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule, while Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey ranked the worst at 65.8 percent.

DIA’s on-time departure performance improved as well — to 87.2 percent vs. 84.4 percent — but it actually slipped one notch in the rankings to 14th.

Denver’s largest three airlines ranked in the top half in on-time arrivals out of 19 carriers included in the report.

United Airlines, the city’s biggest carrier, recorded a marked improvement. Its on-time arrival performance hit 85.5 percent in November, good enough for a fourth-place ranking. The carrier finished in the bottom spot a year earlier, at 75.5 percent.

Nearly 84 percent of Frontier Airlines’ flights landed on time during the month, roughly even with its performance in November 2007. The carrier, however, ranked ninth in November 2008 vs. fourth in November 2007, indicating that its competitors made solid advances.

Southwest Airlines came in second at 87.2 percent, up from 84.2 percent a year earlier.

Airlines in general also improved in other performance areas, as both complaints and mishandled bag rates declined.