Flying back from Puerto Rico, I was pleasantly surprised that both legs of my flight left and arrived on time. Having traveled more than I normally do in the last few months, delays (and subsequently missing the connecting flight) have become an expected frustration in my travel experience. So I did a little search on airlines’ on-time performance. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the on-time rate for all airlines combined was 64.34% in December 2007 and 72.36% in January 2008. The on-time rate for the major airlines in 2007 are as follows, from top performers to bottom performers:
Southwest Airlines: 80.85%
Delta Airlines: 76.89%
AirTran: 76.81%
Continental Airlines: 74.24%
United Airlines: 70.33%
American Airlines: 68.74%
US Airways: 68.71%
Surprisingly, in the bad month of December 2007, out of 35.66% delayed flights, only 1.39% was caused by weather. National aviation system delay and air carrier delay each accounted for 10.42% and 9.17% of the delays. What these numbers reveal is an outdated air traffic management system that is unable to satisfy the current travel demands. With all the fancy technology today, one would think that managing flights should be done better and faster. But historical data show that airline on-time performance has not improved but rather has slightly declined from an on-time rate of 77.20% in 1998.
It is time for airlines and air traffic controllers to rethink the model of air travel and the hub-and-spoke system. Ironically, I saw a BMW display ad at the Atlanta Airport saying “Miss your flight. But still make it to your meeting on time.” Too bad most people cannot afford a BMW, otherwise, we’ll all switch to the “flying” experience of a BMW, even though no peanuts and beverages are served.