Atlanta airport ranks 17th in on-time flights

By Kelly Yamanouchi

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport ranked 17th in the nation for on-time arrival performance in June, down from the No. 4 spot a year ago.

The report from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics showed 76 percent of flights arrived on time in Atlanta in the month, down slightly from 77 percent in June 2008. Nationally, 76.1 percent of flights arrived on time in June, up from 70.8 percent a year earlier.

The top-ranked airport in June was Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental with 88.8 percent of flights arriving on time, while a year ago Salt Lake City topped the list with 83.4 percent on-time arrivals.

A flight is counted as on time if it arrives at the gate less than 15 minutes after the scheduled time.

Delta Air Lines subsidiary Comair ranked at the bottom of airlines for on-time performance in June, with 59.8 percent of flights arriving on time. Atlanta-based Delta ranked ninth with 76.1 percent on-time arrivals, followed by AirTran Airways, which has its largest hub in Atlanta, and Delta merger partner Northwest. Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines took the No. 14 spot.

Delta had the highest rate of consumer complaints reported to the federal government in June among airlines ranked, with 1.61 complaints per 100,000 passengers boarding planes.

The report’s listing of chronically-delayed flights - those that arrive late 80 percent of the time or more - included AirTran flights from Philadelphia to Atlanta and from Atlanta to Washington Dulles.

Also chronically delayed were Comair flights from Charleston and Omaha to Atlanta and from Atlanta to Myrtle Beach, S.C. Comair had the highest percentage of regularly scheduled flights arriving late 70 percent of the time or more in June, with 10.7 percent of its flights falling into that category. Comair also had the highest rate of flight cancellations.

A list of flights with tarmac delays lasting longer than four hours in June included a Delta flight from Atlanta to Chicago O’Hare, one from Washington Dulles to Atlanta and another from Philadelphia to Atlanta. An AirTran flight from Baltimore-Washington International to Atlanta and one from Detroit to Atlanta also had tarmac delays longer than four hours.

The federal data included a report on an animal incident on a Delta flight. A cat named Sophie “appeared to be in distress” after a flight from Munich to Atlanta June 18, was taken to a veterinary hospital and died there. A doctor concluded Sophie died of heat stroke, complicated by an upper respiratory condition and “excessive fat accumulation.” The owner said Sophie had breathing problems in the past, according to the report. An investigation found proper procedures were followed on the plane and no corrective actions were needed.