Airline delays this year still dismal, but September flights improve; Alaska’s arrival rates 2nd worst
WASHINGTON - Travelers were less likely to be stuck on a delayed flight in September, but the airline industry’s record of delays this year remained the worst in 13 years, according to government data released today. The nation’s 20 largest carriers reported an on-time arrival rate of 81.7 percent in September, up from 76.2 percent in the same month a year ago and up from 71.7 percent in August, the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics said.
However, Seattle-based Alaska Airlines had the second worst on-time arrival rate, with only 73.3 percent of flights on time in September. Atlantic Southeast Airlines was the worst, with just 63.4 percent of flights on time; Aloha Airlines was the best, with 95.4 percent on time.
Despite the improved September results more than 24 percent of flights arrived late in the first nine months of the year. The industry’s on-time performance this year remained the worst since comparable data began being collected in 1995.
The statistics come amid increased concern about flight delays. Last month, federal aviation regulators held a two-day summit aimed at fixing “epidemic” delays at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, which had the second-worst on-time arrival record of any major U.S. airport through September, followed by Newark’s Liberty International Airport.
The latest government proposal to alleviate delays is to reduce JFK’s hourly flight limit by 20 percent.
But the airline industry’s trade group, the Air Transport Association, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs JFK, both prefer flight-path changes and improvements aimed at increasing the airport’s capacity.