U.S. airlines’ collective operational performance in October
ranked among their best in decades, according to the U.S. Department of
Transportation.
Carriers reporting to the DOT posted an on-time arrival rate
of 87 percent for the month, up from 86.5 percent the previous month and 80
percent in October 2014. That marked the third-highest on-time arrival rate in
more than 20 years of comparable records.
Carriers canceled 0.5 percent of scheduled domestic flights
during October, the second lowest in the past 250 months of comparable records,
behind September 2015’s 0.4 percent.
Delta Air Lines boasted October’s highest on-time arrival
rate (92.1 percent) and lowest cancellation rate (17, which rounded to 0
percent). The three airlines with the lowest on-time arrival rates were Spirit
Airlines (78 percent), JetBlue Airways (80.9 percent) and Virgin America (83.3
percent).
U.S. carriers' mishandled baggage rate for the month hit 2.49
reports per 1,000 passengers, down from 2.86 a year prior but up from the
previous month’s rate of 2.46.