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The Upside of Airline Capacity Cuts

December 10, 2008 12:28 PM

It turns out cutting capacity has some benefits for airlines and passengers: Airlines clocked a 86 percent on-time arrival rate in October, according to data released today by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

That's an improvement over both September 2008 and October 2007. Of course, October doesn't see summer thunderstorms or winter snow storms, two big air travel grinches.

New this month: Data that looks at lengthy delays for flights that were later cancelled or diverted to alternate airports. The added reporting is a product of the hue and cry over some marathon delays we saw in 2006 and 2007 (Jet Blue ring a bell?) which prompted the government to change how carriers report those numbers.

In the past, an 8-hour tarmac delay followed by a flight cancellation would be reported as just a cancellation -- basically a free pass for the airline. Now carriers must report time the time spent sitting and waiting.   

"This new information will help the Department keep better track of the most onerous tarmac delays while providing flyers a valuable new resource to help them choose carriers and flights," Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters said today.

So how did they do? In October, a total of 50 flights were delayed for three hours or more (that's 0.0001 percent of scheduled flights). Six flights out of 554,325 sat for four hours or more.

Complaints about airline service were also down. The Department of Transportation received 42 percent fewer complaints about airline service in October 2008 than in October 2007.

One more piece of good news. The airlines continue to do a better job of getting your bag to you. That's a good thing, since you're probably paying extra to check it.

-ABC News' Matt Hosford

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