U.S. airlines improved on-time performance in August

— -- U.S. airlines' on-time performance improved in August, compared to the previous month or August 2007, says new government data released Thursday.

The 19 largest carriers recorded an on-time arrival rate of 78.4% in August, compared to 71.7% a year ago and 75.7% in July 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Compared to a year ago, the airlines are operating fewer domestic flights, a strategy that has generated higher fares and fuller planes but also eased the burden on the aviation system. There were 6% fewer domestic flights scheduled for August 2008 compared to August 2007, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from OAG — Official Airline Guide.

The relatively strong performance in August contrasts sharply with last year. The industry's on-time performance in August 2007 was the second-worst for the month in the 13 years that the government has tracked the figures, capping a summer that rivaled 2000 for the highest percentage of delays. The only worse August performance was in 2000, which was near the peak of the pre-9/11 travel boom.

Cancellation rates also improved in August. During the month, 1.6% of scheduled domestic flights were canceled, lower than both the 1.9% in August 2007 and 1.7% in July 2008.

The U.S. carriers' posted a mishandled baggage rate of 4.98 reports per 1,000 passengers in August, better than August 2007's 7.58 but slightly higher than 4.86 in July.

There were also fewer complaints in August. The department received about 1,000 complaints about airline service from consumers, down 39% from August 2007 and 8% from July 2008.

Other findings:

•Best and worst on-time performance. Among the major network carriers, Northwest was the best performer in on-time arrival rate. JetBlue fared the worst, with more than one-third of its flights delayed. American was the second worst performer, with 71% on-time rate.

•Most delayed flights. Four out of the five most delayed flights were operated by Comair, a regional carrier owned by Delta. JetBlue's flight 74 (Orlando-New York John F. Kennedy) was late 97% of the time, making it the most consistently delayed flight operated by a major carrier.