Hawaii-based Airlines - HAL 36 (HNL-PHX) the world's most frequent late route - and some comparative stats

It is amazing what you can figure out while you spend the normal 4-9 hours waiting for your mostly unscheduled HAL 36 from HNL to PHX to leave.

in the past 90 days:
HAL 36 has been over 2 hours late 14 times.
the next worst trans pac HAL flight was HAL 18 HNL-LAS with 5 two hour plus late runs. HAL 2 HNL-LAX was third with 4 two hours or more late. HAL 8 and HAL 10 had 3 flights late 2+ hours in the same 90 days. All other HAL transpac flights only had 2, 1 or none flights in the same 90 days 2+ hours late.

Of the 14 flights that HAL 36 had over 2 hours late 7 were 4+ hours late. I have personally been on HAL 36 3 times in the past 18 months when it was 6+ hours late.

It became painfully obvious last year that HAL will take any mechanical in the fleet and move planes around to cause the HAL 36 to be late. I suppose being the last 763 of the day to leave gives it that position. Unfortunately there is essentially no other choice from PHX except to drop HNL as a business destination, which I suppose is worth considering.

US Air is not an option as its flight home is a red eye and HAL 36 is only a red eye half the time. The other half of the time it leaves about 3 pm.

Perry

I should thank flightaware.com for the date to research this information.

Honestly, for business purposes, I might try US. At least, their flights are SCHEDULED as red-eyes (and, hence, you don't have to spend many extra hours at HNL). HA is simply NOT that much better...

More on HA36 from flightstats.com:

This flight has an on-time performance of 20%. Statistically, when controlling for sample size, this flight has on-time performance characteristics better than 0% of other flights.

This flight has an average delay of 72.0 minutes with a standard deviation of 85.59 minutes. Maximum delay was 444 minutes. Statistically, when controlling for sample size, standard deviation, and mean, this flight has delay performance characteristics better than 0% of other flights.

At least seems like it's never canceled.

Hmmmm, so our "leaking coffee maker" which caused a 2 1/2 hour delay was the NORM? We've taken HA 36 3 times, so that puts it at a 33% delay for us.

I still like the HA flight better than the US- Mai Tai's, the music, food. We had a nice flight on US last time, but the ambiance wasn't there.

Am taking the afternoon HA36 early May. Lands PHX close to midnight- I have to be at work 7 am. Questioning my sanity on that one.

Last time I took this flight it was 5 hours and 11 minutes late, per Hawaiian's Customer Relations folks. Who felt that that delay only warranted me a $15 meal voucher, and after the letter I got a $75 USD E-cert so they can delay me again :-)

A colleague was on PDX-HNL on 2/6 and it run into engine problem. They were sent home and the flight delayed until 11pm departure on 2/6. I assume a new plane flew in to pick them up. I tried to tell them about Rule 240, but they were home when they got back to me.

Did a quick MR over the weekend. Saw the plane parked away from the terminal on my way to AMS on Sat and it didn't move when I came back tonight.

In their main bank of mainland bound flights, this one is last and HA treats it as it's red headed step child. Any MX on one of the planes for those flights and they just steal planes until they are out. Since this was my primary HA route, this is one of several reasons I've left HA. Now on the LAS flights, they take care da kama'aina. Since they are competing with a charter on that route, they figure they better not treat it like a charter.

In their main bank of mainland bound flights, this one is last and HA treats it as it's red headed step child. Any MX on one of the planes for those flights and they just steal planes until they are out. Since this was my primary HA route, this is one of several reasons I've left HA. Now on the LAS flights, they take care da kama'aina. Since they are competing with a charter on that route, they figure they better not treat it like a charter.

Yeah, this is reason why we were delayed for 8 hours due to mechanical problems. So we have to take redeye on the plane from HNL-PHX. We were arrived into PHX around almost 8am. It was my last previously trip to HNL for week vacation from work. So HA has offers gave everyone a voucher for future trip is $200. So this is reason happening to me since I struck in HNL for long 8 hours due to mechanical problems. I think HA need to exchange the aircraft to get better job for which right aircraft will be take back to mainland USA.

Hmmmm, so our "leaking coffee maker" which caused a 2 1/2 hour delay was the NORM? We've taken HA 36 3 times, so that puts it at a 33% delay for us.

I still like the HA flight better than the US- Mai Tai's, the music, food. We had a nice flight on US last time, but the ambiance wasn't there.

Am taking the afternoon HA36 early May. Lands PHX close to midnight- I have to be at work 7 am. Questioning my sanity on that one.

Good luck!!!

I guess that HA 36 is Hawaiian's whipping boy in order to establish their systemwide Best On-Time Performance Crown for all of 2008.

Good luck!!!

Yeah, you're gonna need it?

I guess that HA 36 is Hawaiian's whipping boy in order to establish their systemwide Best On-Time Performance Crown for all of 2008.

Yeah, this is reason why HA is very worse delayed due to mechanical problems all of the time. So I think HA need to get beef up where they need to be improved on-time performance for this year in 2009.

It sounds like HA needs one more plane to run a consistent schedule. Hopefully, they will be able to build up to that point. With a relatively small long-range operation, it's hard to justify an operational space. But they obviously need an aircraft that comes in around 2pm and is scheduled to stay on the ground until 11pm. That might alleviate the problems for the PHX flight!

I don't think I'll warn my boss about the potential for lateness until after he signs the leave form. ;)

But, I will plan extra for that day, just in case I haven't gotten the night sleep I need. Oh well, I might not be rested, but I'll be tan!
(and they have 3 months to fix things....)

I don't think I'll warn my boss about the potential for lateness until after he signs the leave form. ;)

But, I will plan extra for that day, just in case I haven't gotten the night sleep I need. Oh well, I might not be rested, but I'll be tan!
(and they have 3 months to fix things....)

They've been treating this route as the ....... child for years!

From what I hear, dispatch reliability on a number of HA's transpacific flights is pretty shoddy; the reason they keep winning the top spot for on-time performance is that there are sooooo many interisland flights that operate on-time the transpacs just get lost in the average. Law of large numbers it seems like.

I’m a new member, just had to get my comment in on this site.

Well, sitting here at the airport waiting for HA flt 36… To Phoenix
Checked online at 12:30 pm, flight on time

Called RES Center at 1:00 pm , flight on time

Check in at airport at 1:20 pm, flight on time

Check into Premier Club, 1:30 pm, flight on time

Go down stairs at 2:30 pm, airport monitor indicates delay, new departure time 1700 hours

Go back upstairs and mention to club hostess, 36 is delayed… Oh let me check… you must have looked at the screen wrong, computer indicates flight is on time, only the Vegas flight is showing delayed…don’t miss your flight.

Go back downstairs and check in with agent at counter… flight is on time at gate 58, please go through agriculture. Yes, but the monitors say it is delayed… “The monitors are wrong, we have being trying to get them to change it, the flight is leaving on time.” :confused:

Go through AG check 2:45 pm … no plane at gate 58.
“Attention all passengers in the holding area, passengers on Seattle flight XX, sorry for the delay, but we expect the plane in shortly and you have a gate change, your new gate is gate 58.” UUUHHHHH there goes our “on-time” Phoenix plane. :mad:

At 2:55 pm hours, go to counter at Gate 60, what is the status of the Phoenix flight,,, standby waiting for information from the computer. “Ok easy question, is it going to be late and what gate?” Yes, it will be at gate 60, not sure of the time yet. You mean the gate that had the “Seattle” plane is now our gate”… Yes, and it is now showing a 6PM departure. All of the staff was very cordial and concerned to help us. GOOD JOB passenger agents, you’re the best.

I guess as the traveling public and a Platinum member, we know maintenance issues are bound to happen and yes we all want the plane to get safely to where it’s going. It seems to me, if they can’t consistently meet their flight schedule, they need to change it. Put Phoenix back on a red eye to give time for the schedule or put together a schedule you can actually meet most of the time. The word will start to get out to everyone that your “On-Time” accolades are bogus, at least for Flt 36.

HA dispatchers can certainly detect when things are going to run delayed more than just an hour before the flight. If HA flight delays are announced sooner than 1 hour before the flight, we your customers don’t have to come and sit at the airport almost as long as it takes to fly to the mainland.
I’m trying to support our local airline, but I think they need to start to do a better job especially with all this bragging about being ON-TIME. Maybe as someone suggests, they need to separate their overseas “ON-TIME” statistics from their inter-island statistics, maybe the real truth might hurt a little to kick the management (:td:) in the OKOLE.

It sounds like HA needs one more plane to run a consistent schedule. Hopefully, they will be able to build up to that point. With a relatively small long-range operation, it's hard to justify an operational space. But they obviously need an aircraft that comes in around 2pm and is scheduled to stay on the ground until 11pm. That might alleviate the problems for the PHX flight!

Yeah, you're right. It was reason why there is problems on HA36 were always delayed all of the times. I remember where I was there in HNL for 1 week vacation from work. It should need to be improved better on-time performance. We were struck in HNL for 8 hours long until we leave from Hawaii around 11pm. We have to take redeye flight. I was too tired during long delays in HNL. We wait for another aircraft is incoming from LAX. I am not appreciated it where we flown on HA due to mechancial problems.

Otherwise, HA will looking for acquired more 763 aircraft coming from leasing companies. I'm sure they need to boost up more specific new routes for next destinations in USA mainland.

flightstats.com is pretty cool.

It shows HA 36 being on time a whopping 23% of the time. The outbound HA 35 is ontime 88% of the time so at least it is pretty consistent.

Unfortunately I type this from the PHX airport where we have at best a 5 hour delay on HA 35 for a mechanical. But the odd mechanical on a single route is acceptable. HA 36 suffers from the accumulated mechanicals on the entire HA transpacific fleet.

Perry

Well, to say the least, this weekend has not been kind to Hawaiian Air and their B767 ops.

Saturday, watching most of their flights, as the afternoon progressed, it was obvious that flights back to the mainland wouldn't in a timely fashion. Many ran 200-300 minute delays, HA36 at last view was not due into PHX until approx 430am. Sat am SAN-HNL flight westbound departed closer to midnight instead of its 930am sched time. Sun am PHX-HNL westbound is showing estimated departure time of 530pm instead of 815am and LAS-HNL westbound HA7 is showing estimated 140pm instead of 1030am on Sunday.

Let's see how the evening progresses and flights make it back to the mainland.

well, to say the least, this weekend has not been kind to hawaiian air and their b767 ops.

Saturday, watching most of their flights, as the afternoon progressed, it was obvious that flights back to the mainland wouldn't in a timely fashion. Many ran 200-300 minute delays, ha36 at last view was not due into phx until approx 430am. Sat am san-hnl flight westbound departed closer to midnight instead of its 930am sched time. Sun am phx-hnl westbound is showing estimated departure time of 530pm instead of 815am and las-hnl westbound ha7 is showing estimated 140pm instead of 1030am on sunday.

Let's see how the evening progresses and flights make it back to the mainland.

Not another delayed yet again! :( I think HA is terribly time where the flight were delayed due to mechanical problems all of the time. This is obvious HA need to acquired more 763 aircraft from IFLC.

any better update on this PHX-HNL plane? I am considering booking with this flight for trip next month until I saw this. Doesn't make me feel too good.

What do you think?