What in the world happened to Southwest Airlines: the US industry leader in on-time arrivals since record-keeping began in 1987 now finds itself in an ignoble eighth place.
Southwest, which painted a plane in 1997 in partial tribute to its timeliness, finished among the top four airlines for the seven consecutive years before its current decline.
“It is a priority for us to make improvements,” said Chris Mainz, a Southwest spokesman. “We have actually added more complexity to our network, along with record loads, and have not seen a dramatic decrease in performance.”
The airline is slipping as it expands to more congested airports such as New York’s LaGuardia, explained Bloomberg News
“They would like to be able to deliver good news to their passengers that ‘the rest of the industry is still on the rocks, but we’re getting you there on time,’” consultant Steve Martin told Bloomberg. “There’s a certain amount of bragging rights that are involved.”
Southwest, the biggest US discount carrier, was alone among major airlines in posting a drop in on-time performance in the 12 months ended in October, falling to 81 percent from 82.1 percent on a year-over-year basis. Its all-time rate is 81.9 percent, said the Transportation Department.
While Southwest has kept on-time arrivals at more than 80 percent for nine consecutive years, rivals’ gains have helped put the industry on course for its most punctual year since 2003. Airlines cut flights during the recession, helping ease airport congestion.
Southwest for at least five years in the 1990s had the best on-time performance, best baggage handling and fewest customer complaints of all major airlines on an annual basis. After topping all three categories in 1992, the airline said it was the first sweep ever and gave itself a “Triple Crown” award.
“Southwest Airlines said, we are going to get you there on time,” Herb Kelleher, then the carrier’s chairman, told a congressional panel in 2008. “And we did.”
But no more.
By David Wilkening
