Fewer flights, fewer delays
Belt-tightening airlines improve on-time record
Amid higher airfares, fewer flights, and new fees for everything from checked luggage to a window seat, there's a glimmer of good news: Once you buy your ticket, odds are slightly better your plane - and luggage - will arrive on time.
Flights nationwide landed on-time - within 15 minutes of scheduled arrivals - 79 percent of the time in May, according to data released yesterday by the US Department of Transportation. That's an improvement from April's 77.7 percent and from 77.9 percent a year ago in May.
Overall flight delays decreased because of less frequent maintenance or crew problems, extreme weather, and late-arriving aircraft, which can have the ripple effect of pushing back the departures of other flights. But, the improvement may also result from the airline industry's efforts to deal with rising oil prices and avoid the billions of dollars in projected annual losses.
Travelers across the country had about 25,300, or 4 percent, fewer domestic flights to choose from in May than they did a year earlier because the 19 largest airlines pared the frequency and eliminated unprofitable routes.
"It's clear the reduction in the number of flights has unclogged the system a little bit, but it may just be temporary," said Dan Kasper, managing director of LECG LLC in Cambridge. "Yes, it's a silver lining, but we ought to hold our breath as to how long it lasts."
At Boston's Logan International Airport, the on-time arrival rate rose to 79.8 percent in May, marking its best May performance since 2003 and ranking it 14th among major US airports. Logan's on-time departure rate climbed to 84.9 percent. New Hampshire's Manchester Boston Regional Airport jumped to an 83.9 percent on-time arrival rate in May and an 87 percent on-time departure rate that month. And T.F. Green Airport in Warwick, R.I., leaped to an 82.7 percent on-time arrival rate and an 86.3 percent on-time departure rate.
Carriers also mishandled or lost fewer bags during May, the month during which many of the major airlines started charging $25 to check in a second piece of luggage for domestic fliers who buy the cheapest tickets. Airlines mishandled 4.6 bags per 1,000 passengers in May - compared to 5 bags in April and 5.9 in May 2007. The fee may have prompted cost-conscious travelers to pack lighter and in turn lower the volume of luggage crisscrossing the tarmac and coursing through the baggage network.
Northwest Airlines Corp., which instituted the checked-bag fee on May 5, said total checked bags domestically and internationally sank to 3.35 million in May, down from 3.6 million a year earlier. US Airways also saw a decline in checked baggage after instituting the fee on May 5, compared to the same month a year earlier. Delta Air Lines Inc., which rolled out the fee throughout May, said it didn't see a significant drop in the number of checked bags, but its mishandling rate has improved due to the multimillion dollar modernization of its baggage system.
Some passengers predict the baggage fees will postpone timely take-offs as penny-pinchers block the aisles trying to cram overstuffed carry-on bags into overhead bins. "I dread the carry-on crowd," said Bill Matthews of Belmont. "They try to stuff the kitchen sink in the overheads."
While travelers have been grumbling about fewer flights, new fees, and other headaches, they have been griping less to officials. In May, passengers filed 885 complaints about air service, down from 1,113 filed in April and 930 filed the prior May.
And travelers may have less to gripe about going forward. On-time performance could improve again by year-end as carriers scale back service following the summer flying season. At least seven airlines have said they will reduce seat capacity up to 12 percent during the last four months of the year, compared with the same period last year. But some Wall Street analysts say that won't sufficiently strip supply in order for airlines to raise prices enough to reach profitability.
"We believe the industry will move further to reduce capacity amid the extreme challenges presented by the energy markets," Lehman Brothers analysts Joseph F. Campbell, Gary Chase, and Carter Copeland wrote in a note to clients June 27. "The capacity reductions that we forecast for the domestic market will bring the industry back to its 2002 (or 1998) size, and likely bring flight times back to similar levels after reaching a peak in 2007. We see about a 2 percent reduction in average flight times in 2009 as a result of less congestion."
Nicole C. Wong can be reached at nwong@globe.com. 