The FINANCIAL — Delta’s strong operational performance again ranked high in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s February Air Travel Consumer Report, which captures data from December 2016.
The report, published on February 15, shows Delta outperformed other major carriers and was second in on-time performance only to Hawaiian Airlines, which has little exposure to weather and air traffic control constraints seen on the mainland. For the month, 81.4 percent of Delta flights arrived within 14 minutes of scheduled arrival time, the DOT’s definition of on time. Hawaiian saw 85.1 percent of flights arrive on-time and No. 3 American had 79.1 percent.
For the full year 2016, Delta ranked third in on-time performance with 86.5 percent of flights arriving on-time, behind No. 1 Hawaiian and No. 2 Alaska Airlines—both of which have smaller, more regionally focused operations.
Similarly, Delta held the No. 2 spot in completion factor—the percentage of flights completed and not canceled—taking just 135 domestic mainline cancellations in the month with a 99.8 percent ranking. Hawaiian led the group with 99.9 percent and American took No. 3 with a 99.3 percent completion factor, according to Delta.
Delta’s baggage operation was in part hampered by inclement weather at some of its largest hubs in December, driving a 5th place ranking with a rate of 2.55 reports of mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers. Still, the airline led among the largest carriers, American, United and Southwest. For the year, Delta ranked 4th behind Virgin America, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines.
Discussion about this post