U.S. Airlines' On-Time Performance Improves

Nearly 85 percent of the biggest U.S. carriers' flights arrived on time in November, possibly helped by fewer flights since Sept. 11, the U.S. Department of Transportation said on Wednesday.
The on-time figure for the 11 top carriers -- 84.7 percent -- was slightly below October's 84.8 percent, the carriers' best showing in more than four years, the department said. But it was well above November 2000's 72.8 percent on-time rate.

"The reduced volume of air traffic following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks may have contributed to the reduction in flight delays," it said.

But the overall length of many plane trips, including stepped-up security, no doubt went up after passengers were told to arrive two hours ahead, not just one, for domestic flights, said Paul Hudson, executive director of the Aviation Consumer Action Project, a Washington-based watchdog group for air travelers.

In addition, new parking restrictions at many airports, plus removal of spaces closest to some terminals, have forced many passengers to use outer lots, adding to travel time, he said.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/biztra...02-on-time.htm

http://news1.iwon.com/article/id/199...1|reuters.html

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 01-02-2002).]

..."Overscheduling is gone, but so is air service to many smaller cities across the country," Boyd said. "Do we fix the highway problem by having 20 percent fewer people drive?"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...business%2Dhed

Air service to small cities has been going downhill ever since deregulation. Large city pairs have always been more profitable than small cities. While price regulation wasn't a good idea, I've always felt that route regulation was a good idea.

Sept. 11 has given airlines a chance to do what they've been wanting to do for a long time -- remove meals, cut evening flights, and cut service to small cities. Very unfortunate.