For punctuality, US Airways comes in last
Pittsburgh's dominant airline, US Airways, scored worst among the nation's 20 largest carriers for on-time arrivals during the first half of the year, according to Department of Transportation figures released Monday.
A total of 63.4 percent of US Airways' flights arrived on time from January through June, versus an industry average 72.6 percent. While it has slashed Pittsburgh flights since 2001, US Airways operates about 48 percent of the air traffic at Pittsburgh International Airport.
U.S. airline delays are at their highest level in at least 13 years, and analysts say fliers can expect more of the same for the rest of the summer.
The data said on-time performance in the first six months was the worst since 1995, the earliest year of comparable data. In June, nearly a third of domestic flights on major U.S. airlines were late.
Part of the explanation for the worsening delays is that demand for air travel is rising, on major airlines and on smaller regional carriers. In addition, the government said weather-related delays in June were up 7 percent from a year ago.
Southwest Airlines saw 80.7 percent of its planes arrive on time in the first half of 2007. It ranked third, behind fair weather-bound Hawaiian and Aloha airlines.
Southwest is Pittsburgh's second-largest carrier, with 12.4 percent of its traffic.
Pittsburgh International had 63.2 percent of its flights arrive on time in June. Six-month data was not available.
The airport's performance compares with 58.6 percent for Philadelphia, 54.3 percent for New York-LaGuardia and 75 percent for Phoenix.
Reports of mishandled baggage and complaints filed with the government rose.
US Airways ranked 14th in baggage reports out of 20 carriers for the six-month period, the same position as last year. The carrier experienced 8.9 bag complaints per 1,000 passengers.
American Eagle was last, with 14.7 bag complaints per 1,000 passengers.
Airline consultant Robert Mann said U.S. carriers improved their financial health in recent years by relying more on small, 40-80 seat jets that are easier to fill up, and can be more profitable because there are fewer empty seats.
But this strategy leads to more crowded skies and runways in a system "that was already saturated," Mann said.
For June, U.S. airlines' on-time arrival rate was just above 68 percent, compared with roughly 73 percent a year earlier, according to Department of Transportation data. So far in 2007, nearly 25 percent of flights on the 20 largest carriers have arrived late, the agency said.
Travelers on SkyWest Inc.'s Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a regional carrier for Delta, had it worst in June, as about 56 percent of flights arrived on time, and five of that airline's flights were late 100 percent of the time. American Airlines was barely better, with an on-time arrival rate of about 58 percent.
The airline industry blames the increased delays on a lack of a modern satellite-based air traffic control system, combined with increasing demand.
"We're not surprised by the numbers," said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association, the airlines' trade group. "We have been saying for some time: It's going to get worse before it gets better."
The industry, along with the Federal Aviation Administration, has been pushing for a sweeping upgrade to the existing radar-based system, but has been caught in an intense political battle over who will pay the bill -- big airlines or users of smaller aircraft such as corporate jets.
Lawmakers face a Sept. 30 deadline before the funding system expires.
