MAJOR U.S. AIR CARRIER ON-TIME PERFORMANCE
MAJOR U.S. AIR CARRIER ON-TIME PERFORMANCE
Major U.S. Air Carrier On-Time Performance (monthly data, not seasonally adjusted)
Flights Not Arriving On-Time (monthly data, with underlying trend)
The number of flights not departing or arriving on time, cancellations, and diversions are measures of service quality.
These indicators are strongly seasonal and are affected by weather and heavy demand in winter and summer months, respectively.
| On-Time Performance | Jan-01 | Jan-02 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of scheduled flights | 524,536 | 436,336 |
| Scheduled flights percent change from same month previous year | 2.41 | -16.81 |
| Percent of flights not arriving on time | 24.77 | 18.98 |
| Change of flights not arriving on time from same month previous year | -2.69 | -5.79 |
| Percent of flights not departing on time | 21.44 | 15.28 |
| Change of flight not departing on time from same month previous year | -1.33 | -6.16 |
| Percent of cancelled flights* | 3.78 | 1.67 |
| Change of cancelled flights from same month previous year | -1.90 | -2.10 |
| Percent of diverted flights** | 0.19 | 0.11 |
| Change of diverted flights from same month previous year | -0.09 | -0.07 |
* Also counted in flights not arriving and not departing on time.
** Also counted in flights not arriving on time.
NOTES: The current value is compared to the value from the same period in the previous year to account for seasonality. Data for American Eagle was included starting in January 2000. Percent changes from January 1999 to January 2000 were calculated based on data excluding American Eagle. Aloha Airlines, which reported on-time statistics for October 2000 through November 2001, has been excluded to retain comparability.
The data cover the 10 largest U.S. air carriers. A scheduled operation consists of any nonstop segment of a flight. The term late is defined as 15 minutes after the scheduled departure or arrival time. A cancelled flight is one that was not operated but was listed in a carriers computer reservation system within seven calendar days of the scheduled departure. A diverted flight is one that left from the scheduled departure airport but flew to a destination point other than the scheduled destination point.
A trendline has been provided for flights not arriving on-time. The trend has been calculated through a statistical procedure called Structural Modeling, in which the time series under study is decomposed into seasonal, trend and irregular components. For further information on this statistical procedure, see: S.J. Koopman, et al., Structural Time Series Analyser, Modeller and Predictor (STAMP), London: Timberlake Consultants Ltd. , 2000
The dramatic changes in the September 2001 data reflect the impact of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, on aviation, including several days in which commercial air operations were suspended.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Airline Service Quality Performance data.