On-time rates for U.S. airlines soared in February as carriers dealt with fewer winter storms in 2016.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, airlines posted an on-time rate of 83.6 percent in February, up from 72.8 percent a year earlier. Airlines also canceled fewer flights, with a rate of 1.6 percent, compared with 4.8 percent of scheduled flights canceled in the same month last year.
Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time performance with 91.9 percent of its flights arriving on time while Spirit Airlines continued to post the worst rate with only 63.2 percent of its flights arriving on time.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines had the third best on-time rate with 87.8 percent while Fort Worth-based American Airlines ranked eighth with 83.0 percent.
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There were 10 tarmac delays longer than three hours in February related to snowstorms on the East Coast on Feb. 5 and Feb. 15. American had one flight delayed in Boston heading for Philadelphia on Feb. 5 for 182 minutes and another flight delayed on Feb. 15 at Washington D.C.’s Reagan airport that was heading for Palm Beach.
Airlines also improved their mishandled baggage rate to 2.64 reports per 1,000 passengers, down from 3.64. The government received 1,504 complaints about air service in February, up 9.9 percent from February 2015.
Andrea Ahles: 817-390-7631, @Sky_Talk
On-time arrival rates
Rank | Carrier | Rate |
1 | Hawaiian Airlines | 91.9 |
2 | Alaska Airlines | 89.3 |
3 | Southwest Airlines | 87.8 |
4 | Frontier Airlines | 87.3 |
5 | Delta Air Lines | 86.4 |
6 | United Airlines | 86.2 |
7 | Virgin America | 84.6 |
8 | American Airlines | 83.0 |
9 | SkyWest Airlines | 81.9 |
10 | ExpressJet Airlines | 78.5 |
11 | JetBlue Airways | 68.9 |
12 | Spirit Airlines | 63.2 |
Total | 83.6 |
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
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