Is your frequent-flyer airline really the fastest way to get to where you're going? We begin with Forbes' new ranking of The Fastest Airlines In The U.S. Just because a flight arrives on time doesn't mean it got there fast.

We’ll review The Best And Worst Franchises To Buy—our annual analysis that highlights 60 U.S. franchises that offer first-rate (and just plain inferior) opportunities for investors.

In this year’s World’s Most Influential CMOs list, we look beyond the noise, Twitter followers and the speaking engagements, to assess the extent to which CMOs are real change-agents at a time when corporations are powerful social forces.

To wrap up the week, we'll take stock of The World's Highest-Paid Soccer Players. Since Forbes began tracking athletes three decades ago, this is the first time the top three highest earners in soccer also sit on top of the list of The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes.

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Justin Conklin
Resident List Meister

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The Fastest Airlines In The U.S.

Block Time vs On Time:To get a more accurate picture of which airlines are getting passengers to their destination as efficiently and quickly as possible, Forbes created a new metric with the consultancy Aerospace Engineering and Research Associates that’s based on actual block time—the time from when the plane’s brakes are released on departure through when the brakes are set at the arrivals gate and the door opens. Read: Methodology For The Fastest Airlines List

Fastest By Route: Every airline has its day—or its route, we should say. The carriers that are on balance the fastest in the U.S. aren’t the speediest between every city pair, and sometimes the overall laggards rise to the top. Read: The Fastest Airlines By Route

Fast Fact: Southwest Airlines, which ranks second among the 10 major airlines, is the fastest airline on eight of the 21 busiest air routes in the U.S., the most of any carrier.

Slow Down:  Alaska Airlines suffers the biggest knock, falling to tenth among the 10 major U.S. airlines when ranked by how fast it reliably gets passengers to their destination. Its average flight in 2018 was 20.7 minutes above the minimum block time. That’s at least partly a function of the two hubs that serve roughly 65% of its flights: Seattle and San Francisco, where its acquisition of Virgin America greatly increased its presence. San Francisco sees frequent inbound delays due to a layer of clouds that flows in off the ocean in the morning and sits over the arrival path at 2,000 to 3,000 feet, while Seattle has gotten more congested due to expanded service by Alaska and Delta.

The Countdown: No 5. Spirit, No. 4 Delta, No.3 Allegiant, No.2 Southwest and No.1 ...

Watch: Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, based in Kansas, has grown to more than 340 locations, and the entire chain generated $475 million in system-wide sales last year, creating $21+ million in revenue for the home office—about $10 million of that as profit. Watch:  Freddy's: The Burger Franchise Smashing The Competition

Spread The Word: Franchise brands don’t technically have to disclose a lot of data on how much their franchisees can earn after they buy into a system—but they do anyway. More and more brands have adopted a policy of transparency in order to earn the trust of potential investors. Read: 'How Much Money Can I Make Buying A Franchise?' Investors Force The Issue

Methodology:  Franchise industry research firm FRANdata began its analysis with a list of 3,300 active brands and compiled data spanning 2013–2017. Analysts narrowed the group down to a roster of 60 franchises—the 30 best and worst—based on activity, performance and scale. In forming its final ranking, FRANdata zeroed in on a variety of criteria: system sustainability, system demand, value for investment, franchisor support, franchisor stability. Read: How Forbes And FRANdata Ranked America's Best And Worst Franchises

Driving Change: Kristin Lemkau is a CMO who uses influence to change attitudes within her company, or, as is the case, to spur a shift broader social attitudes. With the #ThisMama campaign, JPMorgan Chase takes center stage as a financial-services company that supports accurately representing the experiences of motherhood. 

Opening Doors: Diego Scotti, CMO of Verizon, has made it a priority to build a more diverse marketing team. His AdFellows program, a fellowship program that enables diverse young talent to work in internships at Verizon and at partner agencies, has been highly successful and has set an example for the broader industry; recently American Express and Anheuser-Busch joined as members.

By The Numbers: Of the top 50, 28 are returning from 2018 and 22 are new to the list. 31 of the top 50 are women; 19 are men.

Methodology: This year, 497 global CMOs were eligible for consideration. To be eligible for inclusion, CMOs or their brand must have appeared on at least one major brand or marketing list in the past year. To make the Top 50, a CMO must be in the top 20% of CMOs on at least three different indicators of personal, industry or internal influence.

The Countdown: No 5. Kristin Lemkau (JPMorgan Chase), No. 4 Ann Lewnes (Adobe), No.3 Antonio Lucio (Facebook), No.2 Marc S. Pritchard (Procter & Gamble) and No.1 ...

Billionaire Watch: By Forbes’ estimates, assuming he keeps his playing contract and current sponsors and partners, Christian Ronaldo is on pace to become the third active athlete to crack the $1 billion mark in career earnings this upcoming season. 

Staying On Top: Paris Saint-Germain’s Neymar Jr. made $105 million last year to round out the top three highest-earning soccer players. His transfer from Barcelona to the French capital stands as the most expensive in the world at $263 million, and his five-year, $350 million total in salary and bonuses will keep him near the top of this list through June 2022.

Youngest: PSG forward Kylian Mbappé (No. 7, $30.6 million) is a 20-year-old newcomer, the youngest on our list. He had his global introduction at last year’s World Cup, scoring four goals in seven matches to help lead his French side to a championship victory. At 19, he was the second-youngest player to score a goal in the tournament, behind Brazilian soccer legend Pelé.

Social Frenzy: Ronaldo is the most popular and engaging among the highest-paid soccer players on social media. His 370 million followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter transcend sports and make him one of the most followed people in the world.

The Countdown: No 5. Andrés Iniesta ($32.5 million), No. 4 Paul Pogba ($33 million), No.3 Neymar ($105 million), No.2 Cristiano Ronaldo ($109 million) and No.1 ...

Thanks for reading. See you next Sunday ...

Looking Ahead

Next week, we'll rank The Best Banks And Credit Unions In Each State. There were 18,000 commercial banks and savings institutions in the U.S. in the mid-1980s, but 35 years of massive consolidation and nearly 3,000 bank failures have cut the total by 70%. With the proliferation of online banks, it is even more important for local banks to demonstrate their advantages in regards to customer service, accessibility and financial advice.

Now Hear This: In his newest podcast, Forbes Editor-in-Chief Steve Forbes speaks with Robert Vass, founder and president of GLOBSEC, who believes that the fresh technology innovation coming out of Central Europe is good for the world, but it needs support in the form of healthy institutions and capital investment. Subscribe for free to What's Ahead on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.