Airlines Boost On-time Arrivals In September

DAVID KOENIG

DALLAS (AP) — The nation's airlines are offering fewer flights, but at least they're more likely to arrive on time now.

The government said Monday that 86.2 percent of flights operated in September arrived on time. That marked the best record since October 2003.

The best on-time records were posted by Hawaiian, Alaska Airlines and Southwest.

The worst at getting you there on time: Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Comair and Delta. The government counts a flight as on-time if it arrives within 15 minutes of schedule.

The Transportation Department numbers covered 19 airlines — all the major carriers and then some. The statistics continued a trend of improving on-time performance as airlines operate fewer flights.

Many U.S. airlines including Delta, American, United and Southwest cut capacity in September compared with September 2008. They operated fewer flights, and on some routes they replaced big planes with smaller ones. That made for less crowding in the terminals, at gates and on the runways.