Phila. Int’l arrival performance declines

On-time arrivals at Philadelphia International Airport dropped in April compared with April 2008, the U.S. Department of Transportation said today.

The monthly report found that 70.66 percent of flights arrived here on time in April compared with 72.01 percent a year ago, dropping the airport to 28th place from 26th place last year among the nation's 31 largest airports.

On-time departures were essentially the same - 77.08 percent in April this year compared with 77.45 percent in April 2008. Philadelphia ranked 25th in both months.

US Airways, which carries about two-thirds of the traffic at Philadelphia International, had a 79.9 percent on-time arrival record in April, DOT said. That ranked it ninth among among the 19 airlines that report monthly data.

"In on-time performance, while we continue to improve and outperform last year's results, so does our competition," US Airways said in a statement to employees today.

The average for the 19 carriers was 79.9 percent on-time arrivals, with Hawaiian Airlines topping the list at 91.1 percent. In April last year, the average for all the carriers was 77.7 percent on-time arrivals.

Weather problems were involved in a little less than half of the delays nationally in April - a slight decline from March. Other delays came from congestion, airport operations, maintenance and crew issues.

A factor helping to ease congestion is that there are fewer planes in the sky this year, as many carriers have scaled back their flights to meet lower passenger demand during the recession.

US Airways also said its rate of mishandled baggage in April - 2.88 for every 1,000 passengers - was its lowest since November 2003. The airline, based in Tempe, Ariz., credited 1,500 bag scanners and a change in passenger behavior, with fewer checking more than one bag.