Summer travel always means dodging thunderstorms, but in summer 2022 you’re dodging airline, hotel and car rental staffing shortages too. Delta, Southwest, Jetblue and most recently United proactively cut schedules in an effort to staff their flights properly and run on time, other carriers are crossing their fingers and hoping for the best.
Because AmTrav exists to bring people together face-to-face – and getting together face-to-face is tough if your flight gets canceled! – we dove into data from 1.7 million flights from summer 2021* to share essential booking advice:
- What times of day and days of the week are flights most-likely to run on time?
- Which hubs are best – and worst – to connect through?
- Bonus: how to give yourself the best shot at a smooth hotel and rental car experience.
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One thing we didn't dive into: which airlines are most reliable. (Being reliable in 2021 doesn't mean you're reliable in 2022.) In May the major carriers were bunched with Delta and Alaska at 80% on time, American and United at 78%, and Southwest at 75%. Frontier, Jetblue and Spirit were below 70%. This was a big change from May 2021 when Delta and Alaska were above 90%, United and American were above 85% and Southwest was 80% on time. (Biggest loser? Frontier from 85% to 65% on time!)
Feel free to share this insight with your team to help them travel successfully this summer!
*About the data: this report is based on Department of Transportation flight reliability data from June, July and August 2021 covering more than 1.7 million flights operated by US carriers within the United States.
Elliott McNamee
Elliott McNamee: July 18, 2024
