It may cost more to book an airline flight, but travelers are at least more likely to arrive on time, with carriers posting record on-time arrival rates for the first half of the year.
Passengers flying the largest U.S. airlines still had a roughly 1-in-6 chance of being delayed 15 minutes or more. But the airlines' 83.7 percent on-time arrival rate from January through June 2012 was still the best performance in 18 years, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. That's how long the DOT has been collecting comparable data.
Airlines are also getting better at handling baggage. Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, for example, had more than 47 million passengers boarding planes in the first half of the year, up slightly compared with 2011. But the number of reports of mishandled baggage on Delta declined to 99,634 in the period, from 138,563 a year ago, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Delta has been focusing attention on improving its operations, including its on-time performance, baggage handling and service.
Delta ranked fourth in on-time arrivals for the period from January to June, behind AirTran in the No. 2 spot. Dallas-based Southwest ranked 7th. Hawaiian Airlines held on to the No. 1 spot.
Relatively mild weather and flight cuts have helped with airlines' on-time performance, which, in turn, can lessen problems in baggage handling and customer service.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a written statement that the federal government's new airline consumer rules and oversight "are holding airlines accountable to their customers.
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