With the February data now published, we are pleased to share an updated data model. The model offers a lot of insight and has two pages. Page 1: This is a detailed summary of performance, featuring an airline menu on the left that allows you to select an individual airline to view its performance. Page 2: Here you can see performance by airline and aircraft type. The results clearly show regional flying is the area of most concern. The results are not encouraging. Cancelations are up, and as the data shows, these are primarily caused by airlines themselves. Delays are also up. Consumers are right to ask what they are paying for. Somehow, this industry can get away with routinely under-delivering and still charging for it. Whoever wrote the contract of carriage deserves special recognition. Is there any other industry that performs so poorly and has the right to do so? Airlines sell a schedule and, routinely, don't deliver what they have sold. Airlines operate in the same environment as freight companies do, and yet deliveries from the likes of Amazon, FedEx, and UPS are consistently on time. A crucial part of the poor on-time performance is the cost. Here is a reminder of what a delayed minute costs. [caption id="attachment_91415" align="aligncenter" width="521"] US DOT; AirInsight[/caption] There are no benefits to delays. Indeed, they are expensive. It's a wonder that airlines don't tighten up their operations to save money. The industry likes to blame ATC. However, as you can see, using the data the airlines report to the DOT, the majority of delays are self-inflicted. The US airline industry doesn't worry about it too much, since there's no additional financial penalty. Now, if US air travelers could get something like the EU Passenger Rights, that might help.
