2 airlines serving area top on-time list
Southwest and US Airways were the most punctual among large U.S. carriers.
The results are in for 2008, and Southwest Airlines and US Airways Group were the most punctual airlines among the nation's largest carriers.
The number-one on-time airline was Hawaiian Airlines, which flies only in warm-weather climates, with a 90 percent on-time rating for 2008, according to data released yesterday from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
On-time performance is measured, by federal transportation officials, as arriving within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time.
Southwest was the most-on-time carrier among the 10 largest U.S. airlines, with an 80.5 percent on-time arrival rating for 2008. Dallas-based Southwest is the second-busiest carrier at Philadelphia International Airport, shuttling 12 percent of passengers here.
US Airways, the region's dominant airline, which transports two-thirds of air travelers at Philadelphia, had a 80.1 percent on-time performance rating for 2008.
The finish marks a stark turnaround for US Airways, based in Tempe, Ariz., which just a year earlier came in last among the "big six" carriers in on-time performance.
US Airways sent out a statement yesterday calling attention to its imporovement. The release was headlined: "Airline Leaps from Worst to First among the 'Big Six' Hub-and-Spoke Carriers."
"When compared to our 'Big Six' rivals, we've gone from worst to first in 12 short months," chairman and chief executive Doug Parker said in a letter to 34,000 employees. "When you consider the backdrop of staggering swings in fuel price, the economic downturn and some of the most severe summer and winter weather in recent memory, our turnaround is that much more impressive."
Parker said the turnaround "was fueled by an intense focus on departing on-time. We improved our system on-time-departure performance by 20.1 percentage points year over year."
The worst-performer for 2008 was American Airlines, which placed 19th out of 19 airlines, with a 69.8 percent on-time rating.
For the month of December, Hawaiian ranked first out of 19 airlines reporting data, with 79.6 percent of its flights arriving on time. US Airways was No. 2 for December, with a 72.1 percent on-time rating. American and United Airlines placed third and fourth, respectively. Southwest was fifth, with a 67.3 percent on-time rating.
Get There On Time
U.S. airlines with the best arrival record
in 2008, in order:
Percent
Carrier on time
Hawaiian 89.97%
Southwest 80.48
US Airways 80.06
Pinnacle 79.55
Frontier 78.98
SkyWest 78.97
Alaska 78.29
Northwest 76.77
AirTran 76.73
Delta 76.36
SOURCE: Bureau of Transportation Statistics