The airline I flew is near the bottom of the list. As usual, Southwest is near the top for punctuality, which leads one to ask why is Southwest able to do what other airlines cannot? There must be a lot of factors such as which airport hubs an airline uses, weather conditions for their routes, etc. But factors such as cost-cutting, staffing, age of aircraft must also be involved. Here's the list for on-time arrivals January through August of 2007:
Hawaiian Airlines 93.34
Aloha Airlines 91.94
Southwest Airlines 79.56
Frontier Airlines 77.08
Pinnacle Airlines 76.67
AirTran Airways 75.99
Delta Air Lines 75.38
Skywest Airlines 75.05
Continental Airlines 72.57
Expressjet Airlines 72.42
Mesa Airlines 72.25
Alaska Airlines 72.06
United Airlines 70.16
Northwest Airlines 68.50
American Eagle Airlines 67.63
American Airlines 67.05
JetBlue Airways 66.79
Comair 65.78
US Airways 64.47
Atlantic Southeast Airlines 63.78
All Airlines 72.16
So does your experience match the statistics?
I just made a quick trip to the midwest and spent more time in airport terminals than in the air. Now, the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics has just released figures on which airlines are the best and worst when it comes to being on time...
Alaska airlines should spend less money on advertising and more money on keeping up the airplane. I have spent more time waiting in airports due to mechanical difficulties on that airline, enough for me to book with another airline!