- Dec 2, 2005
- 566
- 99
Hello Everyone,
Okay, as I told you earlier, the latest Air Travel Consumer Report has a new
look. Gone is Independence Air. The carrier ceased operations on Jan. 5, and
frankly, those five days don't really matter. Also gone is America West.
That's right, with this latest report, America West and US Airways are now
merged for the purposes of reporting data to the DOT. And don't look now, but
Mesa Airlines has joined the list. So, we lost two, gained one and that gives
us 19 carriers reporting to the DOT.
Most of you will remember my comments last summer regarding Mesa Airlines. Keep
in mind that my comments were from my own personal experience with the carrier.
No rumor, no hearsay, just personal experience. Mesa sucked. Now, I heard the
excuses from many of you who work for Mesa and remember folks, it's not personal
with you, I know you do a good job. It was simply my observations of Mesa's
operations last summer. How can I ever forget, "Due to air traffic congestion
and resulting lengthy delays, this flight has been cancelled." That was Mesa's
motto, essentially, last summer. But hey, don't take my word for it, just check
out Mesa's first report to the DOT.
JANUARY 2006 AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT:
ON-TIME:
1- Hawaiian Airlines ... 95.9%
2- Southwest Airlines ... 84.4
3- Frontier Airlines ... 82.5
4- US AIRWAYS ... 81.1
5- ExpressJet Airlines ... 79.6
6- Northwest Airlines ... 79.5
7- American Airlines ... 79.3
8- Skywest Airlines ... 78.8
AVERAGE ... 78.8
9- Comair ... 78.7
10- Continental Airlines ... 78.1
11- Delta Airlines ... 77.3
12- American Eagle ... 77.1
13- ATA Airlines ... 76.0
14- AirTran Airways ... 75.7
15- United Airlines ... 75.6
16- Mesa Airlines ... 73.6
17- Atlantic Southeast Airlines ... 72.9
18- Alaska Airlines ... 71.2
19- JetBlue Airways ... 70.6
US Airways is beginning to be consistently good in this category. Well done!
US AIRWAYS' ON-TIME PERCENTAGE AT THEIR HUBS AND FOCUS CITIES:
HUBS:
1- PHX ... 85.7%
2- CLT ... 84.4
3- PHL ... 71.4
FOCUS CITIES:
1- PIT ... 83.9
2- LAS ... 83.4
3- DCA ... 82.6
4- BOS ... 77.7
5- LGA ... 73.4
FOCUS ON THE PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT:
So, you just got finished reading the great numbers posted by PHL for December,
right? Well, I knew it was too good to be true. This reminds me of the time
when Floyd thought he had won the big money ticket from Goober's fillin' station
contest, only to find out that the printer made a mistake and that there was no
$200 prize. Yes folks, PHL's numbers are disappointing.
For on-time arrivals in January, PHL ranked 30th (out of 33) with a mark of
70.7%. Only EWR, JFK and LGA were worse.
For on-time departures in January, PHL ranked 32nd (only ORD was worse) with a
mark of 74.4%.
The worse time to arrive at PHL in January was between 7:00p-7:59p, when only
58.7% of the flights arrived on time.
The worse time to depart PHL in January was between 5:00p-5:59p, when only 62.1%
of the flights departed on time.
WORST FLIGHTS OF THE MONTH AWARD:
American Eagle flight 4897 (LGA-CLT) was late 93% of the time in January, by an
average of 40 minutes.
Skywest flight 6243 (SFO-SBA) was late 87% of the time in January, by an average
of 44 minutes.
American Eagle flight 4685 (JFK-ORD) was late 84% of the time in January, by an
average of 56 minutes.
(how nice, a friggin' regional jet between New York and Chicago).
Comair flight 5375 (CVG-LGA) was late 83% of the time in January, by an average
of 28 minutes.
American Eagle flight 4838 (XNA-LGA) was late 82% of the time in January, by an
average of 45 minutes.
OVERALL NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS BY CARRIER:
(worst to best)
19- Mesa cancelled 1,063 flights in January, or 4.2% of their operations. Whoa!
18- Atlantic Southeast cancelled 687 flights, or 3.1% of their operations.
17- American Eagle cancelled 1,338 flights, or 3.0% of their operations.
16- Alaska cancelled 372 flights, or 2.9% of their operations.
15- Comair cancelled 517 flights, or 2.2% of their operations.
14- United cancelled 786 flights, or 1.9% of their operations.
13- Skywest cancelled 830 flights, or 1.9% of their operations.
AVERAGE ... 1.7% of operations cancelled in January.
12- Delta cancelled 733 flights, or 1.6% of their operations.
11- ATA cancelled 30 flights, or 1.5% of their operations.
10- US AIRWAYS cancelled 685 flights, or 1.5% of their operations.
9- ExpressJet cancelled 507 flights, or 1.5% of their operations.
8- AirTran cancelled 250 flights, or 1.4% of their operations.
7- Northwest cancelled 423 flights, or 1.3% of their operations.
6- Southwest cancelled 900 flights, or 1.0% of their operations.
5- American cancelled 535 flights, or 1.0% of their operations.
4- Continental cancelled 85 flights, or 0.3% of their operations.
3- Frontier cancelled 22 flights, or 0.3% of their operations.
2- JetBlue cancelled 24 flights, or 0.2% of their operations.
1- Hawaiian didn't cancel any flights in January.
These 19 carriers cancelled a total of 9,787 flights in January. Also, there
were 1,370 diversions.
MISHANDLED BAGGAGE:
(reports per 1,000 passengers - best to worst)
1- Hawaiian ... 2.99
2- AirTran ... 4.09
3- Continental ... 4.36
4- Alaska ... 4.48
5- Northwest ... 4.91
6- Southwest ... 5.00
7- United ... 5.12
8- JetBlue ... 5.27
9- Frontier ... 5.67
10- Delta ... 6.71
AVERAGE ... 6.92
11- American ... 6.97
12- ATA ... 6.99
13- US AIRWAYS ... 8.45
14- ExpressJet ... 8.84
15- Comair ... 10.72
16- Skywest ... 12.35
17- American Eagle ... 13.98
18- Mesa ... 14.01
19- Atlantic Southeast ... 19.47
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS:
(Complaints per 100,000 enplanements - best to worst)
1- JetBlue ... 0.15
2- Southwest ... 0.17
3- Hawaiian ... 0.41
4- Comair ... 0.50
5- ExpressJet ... 0.54
6- AirTran ... 0.74
7- ATA ... 0.88
8- Atlantic Southeast ... 0.97
9- Frontier ... 1.03
AVERAGE ... 1.13
10- American Eagle ... 1.24
11- Northwest ... 1.25
12- US AIRWAYS ... 1.28
13- Continental ... 1.30
14- American ... 1.31
15- Skywest ... 1.36
16- Delta ... 1.43
17- Alaska ... 1.45
18- United ... 1.60
19- Mesa ... 3.15 (nearly twice as bad as next worst)
Okay, let's recap this thing here. First, you can bet that the other airlines
are glad to see Mesa now included in the DOT's report.
Secondly, let's take a look at the 'merged' US Airways results. US Airways
continues to do well in the on-time department as well as the number and
percentage of flight cancellations. In fact, the on-time numbers are very good.
However, there is something called 'The Law of Averages' at work here.
I read an article online today in which Al Crellin, VP of Operations for US
Airways, said that the airline was last in Consumer Complaints for December and
12th for January, and that it was a great showing for the entire US Airways
team. Not so fast there, Al.
Lest you think US Airways has suddenly made a dramatic improvement regarding
Consumer Complaints, let me explain. What has happened here is that the America
West side has pulled up the US Airways side in the Baggage Complaint and
Consumer Complaint department.
As I'm sure you'll recall, America West has almost always been 'above average'
and US Airways has, for a long time now, been 'well below' average in these two
categories. And, as you just read in my previous newsletter, US Airways was the
worst for Consumer Complaints for 2004 and 2005. So, there's been no sudden
improvement with respect to these two categories. It's simply the average of
the two airlines, with America West pulling US Airways out of the gutter. If
both airlines had reported separately, you would see America West somewhere at
or above average and US Airways near, if not at, the bottom. It's been that way
for months and months. The airline has a long way to go in the Consumer
Complaint department.
If this newsletter has been forwarded to you and you would like to receive it
directly, just send a blank email to:
[email protected]
Regards,
John McCorkle
Wilmington, NC
Okay, as I told you earlier, the latest Air Travel Consumer Report has a new
look. Gone is Independence Air. The carrier ceased operations on Jan. 5, and
frankly, those five days don't really matter. Also gone is America West.
That's right, with this latest report, America West and US Airways are now
merged for the purposes of reporting data to the DOT. And don't look now, but
Mesa Airlines has joined the list. So, we lost two, gained one and that gives
us 19 carriers reporting to the DOT.
Most of you will remember my comments last summer regarding Mesa Airlines. Keep
in mind that my comments were from my own personal experience with the carrier.
No rumor, no hearsay, just personal experience. Mesa sucked. Now, I heard the
excuses from many of you who work for Mesa and remember folks, it's not personal
with you, I know you do a good job. It was simply my observations of Mesa's
operations last summer. How can I ever forget, "Due to air traffic congestion
and resulting lengthy delays, this flight has been cancelled." That was Mesa's
motto, essentially, last summer. But hey, don't take my word for it, just check
out Mesa's first report to the DOT.
JANUARY 2006 AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT:
ON-TIME:
1- Hawaiian Airlines ... 95.9%
2- Southwest Airlines ... 84.4
3- Frontier Airlines ... 82.5
4- US AIRWAYS ... 81.1
5- ExpressJet Airlines ... 79.6
6- Northwest Airlines ... 79.5
7- American Airlines ... 79.3
8- Skywest Airlines ... 78.8
AVERAGE ... 78.8
9- Comair ... 78.7
10- Continental Airlines ... 78.1
11- Delta Airlines ... 77.3
12- American Eagle ... 77.1
13- ATA Airlines ... 76.0
14- AirTran Airways ... 75.7
15- United Airlines ... 75.6
16- Mesa Airlines ... 73.6
17- Atlantic Southeast Airlines ... 72.9
18- Alaska Airlines ... 71.2
19- JetBlue Airways ... 70.6
US Airways is beginning to be consistently good in this category. Well done!
US AIRWAYS' ON-TIME PERCENTAGE AT THEIR HUBS AND FOCUS CITIES:
HUBS:
1- PHX ... 85.7%
2- CLT ... 84.4
3- PHL ... 71.4
FOCUS CITIES:
1- PIT ... 83.9
2- LAS ... 83.4
3- DCA ... 82.6
4- BOS ... 77.7
5- LGA ... 73.4
FOCUS ON THE PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT:
So, you just got finished reading the great numbers posted by PHL for December,
right? Well, I knew it was too good to be true. This reminds me of the time
when Floyd thought he had won the big money ticket from Goober's fillin' station
contest, only to find out that the printer made a mistake and that there was no
$200 prize. Yes folks, PHL's numbers are disappointing.
For on-time arrivals in January, PHL ranked 30th (out of 33) with a mark of
70.7%. Only EWR, JFK and LGA were worse.
For on-time departures in January, PHL ranked 32nd (only ORD was worse) with a
mark of 74.4%.
The worse time to arrive at PHL in January was between 7:00p-7:59p, when only
58.7% of the flights arrived on time.
The worse time to depart PHL in January was between 5:00p-5:59p, when only 62.1%
of the flights departed on time.
WORST FLIGHTS OF THE MONTH AWARD:
American Eagle flight 4897 (LGA-CLT) was late 93% of the time in January, by an
average of 40 minutes.
Skywest flight 6243 (SFO-SBA) was late 87% of the time in January, by an average
of 44 minutes.
American Eagle flight 4685 (JFK-ORD) was late 84% of the time in January, by an
average of 56 minutes.
(how nice, a friggin' regional jet between New York and Chicago).
Comair flight 5375 (CVG-LGA) was late 83% of the time in January, by an average
of 28 minutes.
American Eagle flight 4838 (XNA-LGA) was late 82% of the time in January, by an
average of 45 minutes.
OVERALL NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS BY CARRIER:
(worst to best)
19- Mesa cancelled 1,063 flights in January, or 4.2% of their operations. Whoa!
18- Atlantic Southeast cancelled 687 flights, or 3.1% of their operations.
17- American Eagle cancelled 1,338 flights, or 3.0% of their operations.
16- Alaska cancelled 372 flights, or 2.9% of their operations.
15- Comair cancelled 517 flights, or 2.2% of their operations.
14- United cancelled 786 flights, or 1.9% of their operations.
13- Skywest cancelled 830 flights, or 1.9% of their operations.
AVERAGE ... 1.7% of operations cancelled in January.
12- Delta cancelled 733 flights, or 1.6% of their operations.
11- ATA cancelled 30 flights, or 1.5% of their operations.
10- US AIRWAYS cancelled 685 flights, or 1.5% of their operations.
9- ExpressJet cancelled 507 flights, or 1.5% of their operations.
8- AirTran cancelled 250 flights, or 1.4% of their operations.
7- Northwest cancelled 423 flights, or 1.3% of their operations.
6- Southwest cancelled 900 flights, or 1.0% of their operations.
5- American cancelled 535 flights, or 1.0% of their operations.
4- Continental cancelled 85 flights, or 0.3% of their operations.
3- Frontier cancelled 22 flights, or 0.3% of their operations.
2- JetBlue cancelled 24 flights, or 0.2% of their operations.
1- Hawaiian didn't cancel any flights in January.
These 19 carriers cancelled a total of 9,787 flights in January. Also, there
were 1,370 diversions.
MISHANDLED BAGGAGE:
(reports per 1,000 passengers - best to worst)
1- Hawaiian ... 2.99
2- AirTran ... 4.09
3- Continental ... 4.36
4- Alaska ... 4.48
5- Northwest ... 4.91
6- Southwest ... 5.00
7- United ... 5.12
8- JetBlue ... 5.27
9- Frontier ... 5.67
10- Delta ... 6.71
AVERAGE ... 6.92
11- American ... 6.97
12- ATA ... 6.99
13- US AIRWAYS ... 8.45
14- ExpressJet ... 8.84
15- Comair ... 10.72
16- Skywest ... 12.35
17- American Eagle ... 13.98
18- Mesa ... 14.01
19- Atlantic Southeast ... 19.47
CONSUMER COMPLAINTS:
(Complaints per 100,000 enplanements - best to worst)
1- JetBlue ... 0.15
2- Southwest ... 0.17
3- Hawaiian ... 0.41
4- Comair ... 0.50
5- ExpressJet ... 0.54
6- AirTran ... 0.74
7- ATA ... 0.88
8- Atlantic Southeast ... 0.97
9- Frontier ... 1.03
AVERAGE ... 1.13
10- American Eagle ... 1.24
11- Northwest ... 1.25
12- US AIRWAYS ... 1.28
13- Continental ... 1.30
14- American ... 1.31
15- Skywest ... 1.36
16- Delta ... 1.43
17- Alaska ... 1.45
18- United ... 1.60
19- Mesa ... 3.15 (nearly twice as bad as next worst)
Okay, let's recap this thing here. First, you can bet that the other airlines
are glad to see Mesa now included in the DOT's report.
Secondly, let's take a look at the 'merged' US Airways results. US Airways
continues to do well in the on-time department as well as the number and
percentage of flight cancellations. In fact, the on-time numbers are very good.
However, there is something called 'The Law of Averages' at work here.
I read an article online today in which Al Crellin, VP of Operations for US
Airways, said that the airline was last in Consumer Complaints for December and
12th for January, and that it was a great showing for the entire US Airways
team. Not so fast there, Al.
Lest you think US Airways has suddenly made a dramatic improvement regarding
Consumer Complaints, let me explain. What has happened here is that the America
West side has pulled up the US Airways side in the Baggage Complaint and
Consumer Complaint department.
As I'm sure you'll recall, America West has almost always been 'above average'
and US Airways has, for a long time now, been 'well below' average in these two
categories. And, as you just read in my previous newsletter, US Airways was the
worst for Consumer Complaints for 2004 and 2005. So, there's been no sudden
improvement with respect to these two categories. It's simply the average of
the two airlines, with America West pulling US Airways out of the gutter. If
both airlines had reported separately, you would see America West somewhere at
or above average and US Airways near, if not at, the bottom. It's been that way
for months and months. The airline has a long way to go in the Consumer
Complaint department.
If this newsletter has been forwarded to you and you would like to receive it
directly, just send a blank email to:
[email protected]
Regards,
John McCorkle
Wilmington, NC
