Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, and one of the most powerful lobbying organizations, today reported the best industry on-time performance in more than two years.
However a closer look tells a somehow different story. Many airlines have engaged in the habit of padding their flight times so that they appear to be on-time.
I was recently on a flight from Washington to Dallas/Ft. Worth. The flight time was listed at 3 hours and 2 minutes, wheels-up to wheels-down. While the flight did leave exactly on-time, we arrived in Dallas a whopping 35 minutes earlier than the scheduled arrival listed.
Sometimes, the early arrival catches the ground crew and gates unprepared and the passengers would sit for a while waiting for the plane occupying the gate to free up the slot, or for the ground crew to arrive.
While it is understandable that airlines have to account for air traffic control delays, weather and other factors, some flight times are comfortably padded that accurate and reliable information for the travelers are hard to come by.
www.premieretravel.com
Friday, June 15, 2012
Airlines: The On-Time Machine!
Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, and one of the most powerful lobbying organizations, today reported the best industry on-time performance in more than two years.
However a closer look tells a somehow different story. Many airlines have engaged in the habit of padding their flight times so that they appear to be on-time.
I was recently on a flight from Washington to Dallas/Ft. Worth. The flight time was listed at 3 hours and 2 minutes, wheels-up to wheels-down. While the flight did leave exactly on-time, we arrived in Dallas a whopping 35 minutes earlier than the scheduled arrival listed.
Sometimes, the early arrival catches the ground crew and gates unprepared and the passengers would sit for a while waiting for the plane occupying the gate to free up the slot, or for the ground crew to arrive.
While it is understandable that airlines have to account for air traffic control delays, weather and other factors, some flight times are comfortably padded that accurate and reliable information for the travelers are hard to come by.
www.premieretravel.com
