Top Airlines on Time a Record 84.3% in June

The nation’s 13 largest airlines in June had their best record of on-time flights since the government began issuing reports on the carriers’ performance, the Department of Transportation reported Wednesday.

In its latest monthly report, the department said 84.3% of the airlines’ flights that were tallied operated on schedule. Since the government began releasing the figures last September, the best previous performance had been in April, when 82.6% of the flights were reported to be on time.

The improvement came even as the airlines began their annual summertime crunch period, a season when air traffic increases as people take vacations.

America West Airlines had the best performance, reporting that 92.8% of flights operated on schedule. Southwest Airlines was next best at 90.8%, and American took third place with an 88.2% record.

At the other end of the spectrum, Pan American had the worst on-time percentage at 72.2%, followed by US Air with 76.6% and Trans World Airlines with 79%.

The department considers a flight to be on time if it arrives at or departs from a gate within 15 minutes of schedule. Flights that are delayed for mechanical reasons are not counted because the officials who created the reporting system feared that otherwise they would penalize carriers that hold back planes that are having equipment problems.

The airlines are required to report their on-time performances at 27 of the country’s busiest airports, although most carriers submit figures for more airfields than that. At the required airports, the 13 carriers’ overall on-time performance was 83.4%.

Complaints Up Over June

In July, the department logged 1,964 complaints from passengers about U.S. airlines, up from the 1,707 complaints received in June. The total continued a trend in which complaints have dropped dramatically from a year ago. DOT received 6,561 complaints in July, 1987.

As has been the case before, Continental Airlines had the largest number of complaints per 100,000 passengers flown, 11.54. Pan Am had the second-highest ratio of complaints at 10.87, while Eastern Airlines was third with 9.05.

Air Wisconsin had the lowest ratio of complaints with 0.46. Southwest was next best with 0.98, while Delta Airlines was third lowest with 1.19.

It is believed that only a small number of passengers who have problems with flights bother to complain to the Transportation Department.

ON-TIME FLIGHTS AT LAX Percentage of on-time flights at L.A. International in June:

Airline Percentage America West 93.5% Southwest 92.5% Continental 90.8% American 89.5% Piedmont 88.1% Delta 86.5% TWA 84.9% United 84.1% USAir 83.9% Northwest 81.1% Eastern 79.5% Alaska 70.9% Pan American 60.9%

Source: Dept. of Transportation PERFORMANCE BY CARRIER Overall percentage of flights arriving on time in June:

Airline Percentage America West 92.8%* Southwest 90.8% American 88.2% Delta 87.6% Continental 86.9% Northwest 84.4% Piedmont 83.4% Alaska 82.9% Eastern 82.8% United 81.1% TWA 79.0% USAir 76.6% Pan American 72.2%

Source: Dept. of Transportation PASSENGER REPORTS OF MISHANDLED BAGGAGE

Airline Passengers Boarded Reports Per 1,000 Passengers Pan American 661,389 3.76 Southwest 1,479,262 4.20 Eastern 2,885,822 5.32 Northwest 2,893,242 5.62 American 5,119,498 6.04 Alaska 468,646 6.08 America West 1,095,226 6.50 USAir 3,161,338 6.69 Delta 4,971,318 6.83 United 5,133,373 6.95 Continental 3,231,676 7.33 Piedmont 2,452,629 7.71 TWA 2,060,555 12.75

Source: Dept. of Transportation