On-Time Figures Higher Than In November 2007, But Lower Than Preceding Month

The nation's largest airlines had a higher rate of on-time flights this past November than in the same month last year, although the rate of delays was higher than in October 2008, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released Wednesday by the US Department of Transportation (DOT). 

According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the 19 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 83.3 percent in November, an improvement over November 2007's 80.0 percent... but below October 2008's 86.0 percent. 

In November, the carriers canceled 0.8 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, lower than the 1.0 percent cancellation rate of November 2007 but higher than the 0.6 percent rate posted in October 2008. 

For the second month, BTS also logged reported incidents of passenger strandings. In November, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that .00002 percent of their scheduled flights had tarmac delays of three hours or more, down from .0001 percent in October, the first month carriers reported this data.

That information should probably be taken with a grain of salt, however, for at least two reasons. One, because it's up to the airlines themselves to report those tarmac strandings; and second, because the figures BTS released in October have already been shown to be erroneous. BTS says it "is reviewing other parts of the tarmac data reported by carriers for October and the following months. Data will be released when the review is completed."

Of those delays and late flights the airlines admitted to, 42 percent were caused by weather, according to BTS.

Hawaiian Airlines recorded the best on-time performance in November 2008, at 89.6 percent. Southwest and Northwest placed second and third, respectively, in this regard. Over on the low end, Atlantic Southeast Airlines posted the worst on-time rate in November, with 75.3 percent of its flights arriving on-time, with Comair and Delta bringing up the rear.

ExpressJet's Flight 2396 from Newark, NJ to Detroit took the dubious honor of being the most frequently delayed flight, showing late 83.33 percent of the time. Comair, SkyWest, Southwest and Mesa also posted flights that were late over 80 percent of the time.

Another ExpressJet plane -- Flight 2534 from Nashville, TN to Newark, NJ -- spent 269 minutes stranded on the ramp November 30. BTS says this was the only flight delayed on the tarmac more than four hours in November.

Regional operators Mesa, Pinnacle and Comair canceled the highest percentages of their scheduled flights in November, while Continental, Northwest and Frontier reported the fewest.

FMI: www.bts.gov