Originally Posted by
spin88
I think that there is wide understanding that AA/US will have a hard time re opperations until they get more integrated, and as such people are expecting it. AA/US has also been going out of its way to be proactive, which takes some of the sting out of it.
This said, I understand that AA/US is in the middle of a series of changes to try to improve OT performance and that Parker and Co are not happy, and that the July numbers for them will look much more competitive than did June.
The main difference is that I seriously doubt that Parker will accept a goal of sub-80% OT like UA has, nor will he believe that getting over 80% has "diminishing returns."
Parker will also have integrated work groups shortly, and with scheduling adjustments should be able to put AA/US well over 80%, I doubt that Jeff could even if he were willing to spend $$ (and he is not) to try to get to over 80%.
I think that getting about 80% starts moving beyond MX delays but more into territory that doesn't fall under WX but is still beyond carrier control like being 45th in line for departure at JFK, or circling for 30 min at ORD waiting for landing clearance.
I know carriers don't have to offer as many flights at peak times, but they are peak times for a reason that is when passengers want to be flying. So that is avoidable yet unavoidable at the same time. Especially in the summer when everyone's schedule ramps up.
Which is partly why HA/AS are always leaders in on-time performance...limited exposure to busy airspace.