DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
U.S. airlines' on-time performance and baggage handling fell in
December from November but rose from a year earlier, the U.S.
Department of Transportation said. However, full-year performance
improved as capacity cuts continue working their way through the
system.
Comair Ltd. (COM.JO) had the worst on-time performance in
December, at 55.1%, while Hawaiian Airlines again had the best,
with a 79.6% rate.
The DOT's Bureau of Transportation services said the 19 carriers
reporting on-time performance had an overall rate of 65.3%, up from
64.3% a year earlier but down sharply from November's 83.3%. The
agency said the carriers canceled 3.3% of their scheduled flights,
down from 3.5% in the prior year but up from 0.8% in November.
For the full year, the 19 carriers had an overall on-time
arrival rate of 76%, compared to 73.4% a year earlier. That was the
fifth-worst of the 14 years with comparable numbers. A flight is
counted as "on time" if it operated less than 15 minutes after the
scheduled time shown in the carriers' computerized reservations
systems.
The airlines overall had a mishandled baggage rate of 6.96
reports per 1,000 passengers in December, down from December 2007's
9.06 but higher than November's 3.75 rate. For the full year, the
mishandled baggage rate improved to 5.26 from 7.05.
The DOT received 700 complaints in December, down from 852 a
year earlier but up from 532 in November. For the full year,
complaints fell 19% to 10,643.
Alaska Air Group's (ALK) Alaska Airlines had the second worst
on-time arrival rate in December at 58.4%, and AMR Corp.'s (AMR)
American Eagle Airlines was third at 59.3%.
The most frequently delayed flight for the month was SkyWest
Airlines Ltd. (SKYW.LN) flight 4669 from Atlanta to San Antonio,
Texas, which was late 94% of the time.
-By Kerry E. Grace, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5089;
kerry.grace@dowjones.com