Hardly news anymore: Last year’s January mirrored this year when it comes to US airlines flying on time. But it will probably get worse.
Nearly one-third of commercial flights in the US arrived late or were canceled in January, up slightly from the same month last year, according to the Transportation Department’s Bureau of Statistics.
The results were an improvement from December — usually a busier month for leisure travelers — when almost 40% of flights by the nation’s 20 largest carriers were delayed or canceled.
“We’re still bogged down here,” David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, told Bloomberg News. “The antiquated air-traffic control system, I think, is at the heart of the problem.”
Analysts say things are likely to get worse as rising passenger demand and an industry preference for smaller planes magnifies congestion in the skies and on runways.
There were 1,174 complaints in January, up from 849 in December.
Not all airlines performed poorly in January. Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time arrival rate at 94.1%, followed by Aloha Airlines at 93% and US Airways at 79.5%.
JetBlue had the best record, with 77.4% of flights landing on schedule, followed by Delta Air Lines at 73.2%.
Report by David Wilkening
