Profile: csoar
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Thank you for your comment. This type of information would likely be useful to passengers, but collecting it may come at a cost to consumers due to increased flight costs. To what degree is this an acceptable expense?
Some airline websites (United’s for example) provide the % of time the flight is on-time, such as in the “flight details” pop-up in the list of flights when you are shopping. If not, this information is available to the public on flightstats.com.
Several of the reasons cited for delays are air traffic control and late arriving aircraft. Air traffic in a couple key spots in this country is congested, in part, because airlines are flying more smaller planes rather than fewer larger planes – to carry the same amount of passengers. This takes up more landing slots. Why do they do this?
1) Planes are charged landing fees based on weight, and therefore it can be cheaper to land 2 smaller, lighter planes rather than one larger, heavier plane.
2) Airlines are worried that if they swap out 2 lighter planes for 1 heavier plane, then another airline will come in and take the landing slot and offer an extra flight of its own and siphon off passengers. Airlines worry that if they don’t offer the most frequent flights, packed especially… more »
The government should change the basis on which landing fees are calculated as a start toward dis-incentivizing these practices. 1) The landing fees should not be based primarily on weight, but rather should be based on the fact that the plane is using a landing slot, with only some consideration given to the weight of the aircraft. That would encourage airlines to choose larger planes that can carry more people with less per-person environmental impact and fewer overall landing slots, reducing delays. 2) The landing fees should be somewhat greater at peak times of day to encourage airlines to spread out their flights more, thereby reducing congestion and delays. « less
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On a recent trip from Wa state to Michigan, every single flight (two out, two back) was late by at least a half hour, resulting in missed connections both ways. When the airport is more than two hours away, notifying passengers of a potential half hour delay won’t significantly change whether they head for the airport or not.
However, in retrospect, I would have LOVED to know the following when booking flights: 1) airline’s yearly on time percentage; 2) airline’s passenger satisfaction rating. Personally, if I’m going to be treated like cattle, I’d just as soon be happy cattle.
Air travel has turned into such a frustrating exercise (hidden fees, late flights, no water, no food, no service) that we look for reasons not to go air. Frankly, if I have to live with such delays, I’d just as soon do it on a train. THEY are still fun, despite their delays.