Just a few months after it received notification from Delta that its contract was being cancelled for failure to meet performance goals, Pinnacle achieved the number one ranking out of 19 major and regional airlines for having the best on-time arrival rate in July in the latest numbers available from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Delta and Pinnacle reached a deal to continue their relationship in July. Related Story
Pinnacle led all carriers with an on-time arrival rate of 85.6 percent, followed by Hawaiian Airlines at 83.6 percent and Southwest Airlines at 83.1 percent. In May and June, Pinnacle led all mainland carriers behind only Hawaiian Airlines.

Airline On-Time Performance Improves in July
Flights operated by the nation’s largest airlines arrived on time at a higher rate this past July than in both the previous month and July 2007, according to DOT’s Air Travel Consumer Report. However, only 7.78 percent were caused by aviation system problems, compared to 10.16 percent in June.
Failed efforts to resolve issues with the three New York airports are seen in the fact that all five most delayed flights were Comair’s Kennedy flights.
The 19 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 75.7 percent in July, higher than both July 2007’s 69.8 percent and June 2008’s 70.8 percent.

Cancellations
In July, the carriers canceled 1.7 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, lower than both the 2.1 percent cancellation rate of July 2007 and the 1.8 percent rate posted in June 2008.

Causes of Flight Delays
In July, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that 7.17 percent of delays came from late-arriving aircraft, compared to 8.86 percent in June; 6.30 percent by factors within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared to 6.78 percent in June; 1.01 percent by extreme weather, compared to 1.14 percent in June; and 0.05 percent for security reasons, the same percentage as June.
Weather is a factor in both the extreme-weather category and the aviation-system category. This includes delays due to the re-routing of flights by the Federal Aviation Administration in consultation with the carriers involved.
In July, 44.37 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, up 2.83 percent from July 2007, when 43.15 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, and down 6.02 percent from June when 47.21 percent of late flights were delayed by weather.

Mishandled Baggage
The U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 4.86 reports per 1,000 passengers in July, an improvement over both July 2007’s rate of 7.96 and June 2008’s 5.15 rate.

Complaints about Airline Service
In July, the department received 1,093 complaints about airline service from consumers, down 36.4 percent from the 1,720 complaints filed in July 2007 but 24.1 percent more than the total of 881 received in June 2008.

AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
July 2008

Highest On-Time Arrival Rates
Pinnacle Airlines – 85.6 percent
Hawaiian Airlines – 83.6 percent
Southwest Airlines - 83.1 percent

Lowest On-Time Arrival Rates
Comair – 63.3 percent
JetBlue Airways – 64.6 percent
United Airlines – 68.2 percent

Most Frequently Delayed Flights
Comair flight 5292 from Minneapolis/St. Paul to New York JFK – late 100 percent of the time
Comair flight 5614 from Charlotte, NC to New York JFK – late 100 percent of the time
Comair flight 5491 from Albany, NY to New York JFK – late 100 percent of the time
Comair flight 5739 from New York JFK to Pittsburgh – late 100 percent of the time
Comair flight 5440 from Washington Dulles to New York JFK – late 96.77 percent of the time

Highest Rates of Canceled Flights
1. Comair – 4.5 percent
2. United Airlines – 3.2 percent
3. JetBlue Airways – 3.2 percent

Lowest Rates of Canceled Flights
1. Frontier Airlines – 0.2 percent
2. Northwest Airlines – 0.6 percent
3. Southwest Airlines – 0.6 percent