United Has Worst On-Time Arrival Figures in July

U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report for July is out. It grades, among other things, which airlines are most likely to have on-time arrivals. The data always gets a lot of news coverage. But is there any valuable data in it, or information to help travelers? Probably not. A small percentage of people are caught on planes that depart very late. On rate occasions, people lose luggage.

In July, the worst on-time arrival figures were for United Continental Holdings Inc. (NYSE: UAL) at 64.1%. The company recently has gone through a merger, and it flies into and out of some of the busiest airports in the country. Also receiving black marks are two regional carriers — ExpressJet Airlines (67.7%) and American Eagle Airlines (75.4%). But Hawaiian Airways (89.6%) and Alaska Airways (88.6%), which fly almost no where, do very well.

Douglas A. McIntyre