US airlines' on-time performance improves more than 7% in January

US carriers’ on-time arrival performance in January improved 7.4% over the year-ago period.

According to the US Dept. of Transportation’s (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the 16 carriers reporting on-time performance data posted an overall on-time arrival rate of 83.7% in January, up from 76.3% in January 2011, but down slightly from December’s 84.4%.

In January, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that 5.02% of their flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 4.69% in December; 4.93% by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 5.19% in December; 4.06% by factors within the airline's control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared to 4.46% in December; 0.55% by extreme weather, compared to 0.33% in December; and 0.02% for security reasons, compared to 0.03% in December. 

Hawaiian Airlines led all carriers in January with an on-time arrival rate of 93.1%. AirTran Airways followed at 87.8% and Southwest Airlines at 87.6%.

The three worst performers were Frontier Airlines at 77.6%, and Alaska Airlines and ExpressJet Airlines, both at 79%.

Cancellations were down in January from a year ago, as carriers canceled 1.5% of their scheduled domestic flights, down from January 2011's 3.9% cancellation rate, but up from December’s 0.8%. 

DOT said airlines reported no tarmac delays of more than three hr. on domestic flights or more than four hr. on international flights in January.

Article Source : ATW Daily News