Originally Posted by
exwannabe
Is DL really padded more than others?
I just random checked ATL-DFW, ALT-LAX and LAX-DFW and all 3 came in with DL having shorter planned flight time than AA (by about 5-10 minutes).
Is there any real evidence that DL (as opposed to all airlines) pads the schedule?
The whole use of the term "padding" is a misnomer.
Air carriers establish their schedules to reasonably account for variables which include any number of factors. This simply means that when things work out, the aircraft is on the gate early. It is entirely appropriate and simply represents a well-educated consideration of factors which often occur.
On any given route, at any given time of day, and with a particular aircraft, any carrier may use a shorter or longer block time.