MilesBuzz! - Airline Trade Group Cites Delays as Biggest Headache

Airline Trade Group Cites Delays as Biggest Headache

Amid another season of flight delays and cancellations, major US airlines are going on the offensive.

The Air Transport Association, the industry's biggest trade group, is releasing a survey Tuesday that finds delays are the No. 1 frustration of frequent air travelers -- ahead of lost luggage and bad food. The survey is partly aimed at goading the Federal Aviation Administration to get moving on technologies that would make room in the skies for more flights.
http://public.wsj.com/sn/y/SB980899522375651958.html

I guess the general public is a lot more accepting of rude flight attendants and gate agents than I am ... or it could be that my preferred carrier is just a little better when it comes to things like catering and baggage handling?

Most people want to fly to their destination on-time than be on a delayed flight with top-notch FA's.

The United States industry body - the Air Transport Association (ATA) - today called on the federal government to take steps to reduce delays and improve the air traffic control system.

"We all know that there is a severe delay problem and the FAA is working hard to reduce delays. But, delays can be reduced and the airline industry stands ready to assist the government in any way we can," said ATA President Carol Hallett.
http://news.airwise.com/stories/2001/01/980972373.html


AND: LAWMAKERS WORRY ABOUT SERVICE
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/010201/c.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/010201/n01195507.html

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 02-01-2001).]

The worst airports for delays, once again,
per each 1,000 scheduled flights:

LGA 155.89
EWR 81.21
ORD 63.30
SFO 55.84
Boston 47.45
Philadelphia 44.50
JFK 38.60
Atlanta 30.90
Houston 28.10
DTW 17.62

No real surprices, except perhaps that DTW did pretty well and perhaps that LGA actually is reported to have got over 84% of flights out on time! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif

Tough to believe! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

AND:

Air travelers frustrated with delays had a lot of company last year: More than a quarter of flights on major airlines arrived late -- the worst record in five years, the Transportation Department said Thursday.

Planes arrived late 27.4 percent of the time in 2000, 3.5 percentage points worse than the year before and the largest percentage of delays since the department started collecting this kind of data in 1995, according to the department's Air Travel Consumer Report.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Air-Travel-Problems.html

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 02-01-2001).]

Delays happen for various reasons: weather, mechanical problems, etc. I'd much rather lose a little time in exchange for safety. There's no good reason to treat revenue customers like dirt.

Too bad "the Southwest effect" only leads to lower airfares...

The recent woes of delayed air travelers result from the government's ``staggering failure'' to invest in airports, planes and air traffic control systems, business leaders and passenger advocates say.

Traveler frustration grew last year as airline delays reached record levels. The Transportation Department said planes arrived late 27.4 percent of the time in 2000, 3.5 percentage points worse than the year before and the largest percentage of delays since the department began collecting such data in 1995.
http://biz.yahoo.com/apf/010202/air_travel.html

AND:

The Bush administration, eager to ease airport delays, plans to speed construction of additional runways at major airports across the country by expediting reviews of their environmental impact.
http://www.latimes.com/print/asection/20010201/t000009526.html

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 02-02-2001).]

"Airline executives have made a cottage industry out of blaming their own employees for flight delays and cancellations," says R. Thomas Buffenbarger, president of the largest airline union in North America. "It's time they started looking for solutions rather than scapegoats."
http://news.airwise.com/stories/2001/04/988221520.html

Let's not forget the carriers' tendency to schedule departure times that appeal to business travellers, such as 5 p.m. out of LGA -- regardless of airport capacity.

LGA can handle just under 90 flights per hour, but has over 150 departures scheduled Friday evenings!

RAD