US Airways Tops in On-Time Performance

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- As it moves closer to a merger, US Airways (LCC) may have many problems, but a lack of operational integrity is no longer among them.

In March, the carrier, which sources say is involved in advanced merger negotiations with United, a unit of UAL (UAUA), ranked first among the 10 largest carriers in on-time performance, its third No. 1 ranking in four months, as measured by the Transportation Department.

The March on-time arrival rate of 79.1% meant the airline was also the best in the first quarter, with an on-time rate of 78.3%.

By contrast, in the same month a year earlier, US Airways ranked last, with an on-time rate of 55.5%. The month represented a low point for the carrier, which suffered a schedule meltdown following a botched effort to move to a single reservations system following the 2005 merger with America West. Its impact kept US Airways at the bottom of the DOT's performance measure for most of the year.

By the time veteran airline executive Robert Isom signed on as chief operating officer in September, a recovery had begun and employees were "tired of getting beat up every day" in performance rankings, Isom said.

"Everybody had a desire to pull it up," he said. "It's not about managing A14," or arrivals within 14 minutes of schedule, which is measured by DOT. "It's about moving the planes out on time, getting out of the gate on time, getting everybody to set up a countdown to departure."

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