they are actually near the bottom for on time departures/arrivals according to
I could be wrong but I read that recently:
People like Southwest Airlines (LUV) for many reasons: free checked bags, friendly flight attendants, and competitive fares. But being on time when you take a Southwest flight? Well, that’s become a questionable proposition.
Southwest has ranked near the bottom of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s monthly tally of airline on-time performance for much of the past year, with only 72.9 percent of its flights arriving on schedule during the 12 months through April 30. Only two regional carriers, Envoy (AAL) (the former American Eagle) and SkyWest’s (SKYW) ExpressJet unit, did worse in that period.
In August, Southwest dramatically tightened its aircraft turnaround and planned flight times to produce a “better, more marketable schedule,” says Steve Hozdulick, the airline’s senior director of operational performance. That, in turn, freed up more time for planes to fly during “the meat of the day”—from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.—when more people want to travel, he says. It was a rational business decision to lure more customers at a time when the airline was looking to increase aircraft productivity and company revenue.
I could be wrong but I read that recently:
People like Southwest Airlines (LUV) for many reasons: free checked bags, friendly flight attendants, and competitive fares. But being on time when you take a Southwest flight? Well, that’s become a questionable proposition.
Southwest has ranked near the bottom of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s monthly tally of airline on-time performance for much of the past year, with only 72.9 percent of its flights arriving on schedule during the 12 months through April 30. Only two regional carriers, Envoy (AAL) (the former American Eagle) and SkyWest’s (SKYW) ExpressJet unit, did worse in that period.
In August, Southwest dramatically tightened its aircraft turnaround and planned flight times to produce a “better, more marketable schedule,” says Steve Hozdulick, the airline’s senior director of operational performance. That, in turn, freed up more time for planes to fly during “the meat of the day”—from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.—when more people want to travel, he says. It was a rational business decision to lure more customers at a time when the airline was looking to increase aircraft productivity and company revenue.
Despite a prediction that its on-time performance would go up by now, Southwest Airlines Co. has shown little sign of improving and has ranked near the bottom for on-time arrivals in April.
Now, Southwest chairman and chief executive Gary Kelly says, the airline has made “significant schedule changes planned for the summer” to lift the Dallas-based carrier out of the bottom echelon of U.S. airlines.
“That’s when I want to be monitoring the on-time performance and making sure we see the improvement that we need to see,” Kelly said Tuesday during an open house at the airline’s new operating center, which goes into use Saturday.
“We’re not where we want to be on on-time performance. It’s unusual for us. We need to get back to where we were in 2012,” he said. “On-time performance was quite good that year.”
In 2012, Southwest ranked eighth among 15 carriers that reported their on-time performance to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Southwest reported that 83.1 percent of its flights arrived within 14 minutes of schedule, better than the industry average of 81.9 percent.
But last year, Southwest finished 12th out of 16 carriers. Only 76.7 percent of its flights arrived within the 14-minute window, compared with 78.3 percent for the U.S. industry.
Now, Southwest chairman and chief executive Gary Kelly says, the airline has made “significant schedule changes planned for the summer” to lift the Dallas-based carrier out of the bottom echelon of U.S. airlines.
“That’s when I want to be monitoring the on-time performance and making sure we see the improvement that we need to see,” Kelly said Tuesday during an open house at the airline’s new operating center, which goes into use Saturday.
“We’re not where we want to be on on-time performance. It’s unusual for us. We need to get back to where we were in 2012,” he said. “On-time performance was quite good that year.”
In 2012, Southwest ranked eighth among 15 carriers that reported their on-time performance to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Southwest reported that 83.1 percent of its flights arrived within 14 minutes of schedule, better than the industry average of 81.9 percent.
But last year, Southwest finished 12th out of 16 carriers. Only 76.7 percent of its flights arrived within the 14-minute window, compared with 78.3 percent for the U.S. industry.
