Regionals Have Better On-Time Performance

In a flip from the usual statistics issued by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, regional carriers outperformed the major airlines for on-time performance, according to FlightStats, an on-line provider of global flight status information, which released its June 2008 airline and airport on-time arrival reports for North American airports, the world's 50 busiest airports, US airlines and major European airlines.
Horizon and Mesaba both performed well above 80 percent for on-time arrivals, along with Hawaiian, Frontier, and Sun Country. Among the largest US airlines, USAirways is giving perennial on-time leader Southwest a serious run for its money. Each has lead the majors in on-time performance three of the last six months. In the US, on-time performance dropped sharply compared to May 2008 with many US carriers showing a 10 percentage point drop in on-time arrivals. American Airlines dropped below the 60 percent on-time percentage mark and United performed only slightly above 60 percent. Cancellations are also on the rise again after falling steadily earlier in the year. Press reports indicate that the changes imposed by the FAA to curb delays and cancellations this summer at the three New York airports have so far been a resounding failure.