Airlines continue good run in on-time performance
— -- The U.S. airlines' on-time performance improved in November compared to the same month a year ago, but worsened slightly compared to October, according to government data released today.
The 19 carriers filing information reported an on-time rate of 83.3% in November, higher than November 2007's 80%, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. But the carriers could not top October 2008's 86%, which was the fourth highest monthly on-time rate since the DOT began keeping track of the data in 1995. A flight is counted as "on time" if it arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
Generally, the airlines report their best on-time performance in the fall, with passenger traffic easing as the busy summer season ends. And the airline industry has responded to the sluggish demand caused by the sour economy in 2008 by eliminating more seats and unprofitable routes. In November, the industry operated about 523,000 scheduled flights, down from 605,000 a year ago.
With fewer flights and more empty seats, U.S. carriers have been able to improve their on-time arrival rate steadily throughout the year. For the first 11 months of 2008, 77% of the flights operated by the industry arrived on time, better than the 74% for the comparable period in 2007.
The industry's cancellation rate also improved in November compared to 2007. U.S. carriers canceled 0.8% of their scheduled domestic flights, lower than 1% rate of November 2007. Again, the November cancellation rate was slightly worse than October, when the carriers called off 0.6% of their flights.
The DOT's report also includes data on lengthy tarmac delays. The industry reported eight flights that sat on the tarmac for three hours or longer before they departed or were diverted or canceled. ExpressJet, American Eagle and American Airlines each had two flights with such delays.
Among other findings:
•More delays attributed to weather. In November, the carriers attributed bad weather as the cause of 42% of their delays, up from 38% a year ago. In October, 34.5% of late flights were delayed by weather.
