Airlines Post Best Ever On-Time Stats. Really?
It may be hard to convince those who endured long delays amid heavy storms around the holidays, but according to the Department of Transportation, the airlines' on-time ratio has never been better.
In November, flights on U.S. airlines had an on-time arrival rate of 88.6%, the best number ever recorded in the 15 years that the DOT has been tracking this figure. The previous best was 88%, set in September 2002.
The airlines also set a record for the lowest rate of mishandled baggage in a single month. The rate of 2.78 reports per 1000 passengers bested the 3.01 rate in September 2009.
The on-time arrival rates for November 2008 and October 2009 were 83.3% and 77.3%, respectively.
The mishandled-baggage rate for November 2008 and October 2009 was 3.75 and 3.48 rate, respectively.