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Airlines' on-time performance improved in Oct.
The nation's airlines in October reported their best on-time performance in five years, with 86 percent of their flights arriving within 14 minutes of schedule.
Leading the pack were regional carrier Pinnacle Airlines with 90.7 percent and Northwest Airlines Inc. with 90 percent, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Wednesday in its monthly report on the airlines' performance on arrivals, baggage handling, bumped passengers and complaints.
The worst performers among the 19 airlines tracked were two regional carriers - Atlantic Southwest Airlines Inc. with an 80.3 percent mark and Mesa Airlines Inc. at 80.5 percent.
The month's performance was the best since October 2003, when the airlines also posted an on-time mark of 86 percent.
By comparison, the group reported 78.2 percent of their flights on-time in October 2007 and 84.9 percent in September 2008.
The decision by many carriers to reduce their number of flights has helped the airlines operate more reliably by reducing the burden on the air traffic control system and airport facilities.
According to data presented to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the airlines tracked in the October monthly report had scheduled 11.5 percent fewer flights in October than a year earlier, a drop of 71,904 to 554,325. That represents nearly 2,400 fewer flights a day than in October 2007.
The decision by most airlines to begin charging for checked baggage also appears to be helping lost-luggage statistics.
The 19 carriers reported 3.55 reports of mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers in October, down 34 percent from the 5.37 reports in October 2007 and down nearly 53 percent from the 7.49 baggage reports per 1,000 in October 2006.
One industry executive, Tempe-based US Airways chairman and chief executive officer Doug Parker, said last week that his passengers were checking 20 percent less luggage since US Airways began charging for checked bags.
"If you take 20 percent out of the system, your bag-handling ratios improve by a lot more than 20 percent," he said. "That's indeed what we're seeing." US Airways saw its rate of mishandled bags drop from 6.42 reports per thousand in October 2007 to 3.08 reports in October 2008, a 52 percent decline.
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