Originally Posted by
Sykes
When a new flight number replaces an existing flight, the on-time stats carry-over to the new flight. See 14 CFR 234.8(b)(4):
(4) In the case of a new flight, carriers shall assign a performance code consisting of the letter “N.” A flight that is not a new flight shall be assigned the performance code calculated for the flight that it replaces, even if the two flights do not have the same flight number. In the case of a flight scheduled to operate three times or less during a month, carriers shall assign a performance code consisting of the letter “U.”
Note that this only applies to the performance codes UA has to report to the DoT. It doesn't regulate what statistics are reported to the consumer on the UA website, which is what I believe people in this thread are referencing.
Originally Posted by
mduell
Perhaps they're doing it for another reason, it just has a really nice side effect...
This must always be considered with UA. Just never know if it's incompetence or something more sinister.