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Southwest Airlines first in on-time arrivals for 2009

The tail of their plane appears outside the window as passengers line up to board their Southwest Airlines flight in St. Louis. Southwest Airlines had the best results for on-time arrivals last year. (File Associated Press)
Terry Maxon Dallas Morning News
The tail of their plane appears outside the window as passengers line up to board their Southwest Airlines flight in St. Louis. Southwest Airlines had the best results for on-time arrivals last year. (File Associated Press)

DALLAS – Southwest Airlines Co. finished first among the nation’s 10 largest carriers in 2009 for arriving on time or within 14 minutes of schedule, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported Friday.

Southwest, which saw 83 percent of its flights arrive within 14 minutes, edged out Alaska Airlines Inc., with 82.9 percent on time.

At the bottom of the 10 big carriers was AirTran Airways Inc. at 75.8 percent. Just ahead of it was American Airlines Inc., with 77.2 percent of its flights on time or within 14 minutes.

As usual, Hawaiian Airlines Inc. topped the entire list of 19 airlines that report monthly operating statistics to the Department of Transportation. Its 92.1 percent on-time was well ahead of No. 2 Southwest.

Regional carriers Comair Inc. at 69 percent and Atlantic Southeast Airlines Inc. at 71.2 finished last among the 19, with AirTran and American next from the bottom.

Among the older carriers that primarily use large connecting hubs, United Airlines Inc. did the best at 81 percent – sixth overall and third among major carriers. United also improved from 17th overall in 2008 and next to last among the major hub carriers.

As a group, the 19 carriers reported that 79.5 percent of their flights met the on-time criteria. That’s 3.5 points better than in 2008 and the industry’s best record since 2003, the DOT said.

United and American showed the biggest year-over-year improvements in their on-time records as their efforts to improve reliability appear to be paying off.

United increased its on-time record by 9.4 percentage points, from 71.6 percent in 2008 to 81.0 percent in 2009. American’s performance climbed 7.4 points, from 69.8 percent in 2008 to 77.2 percent in 2009.

Both carriers launched efforts in 2008 to improve their operations, including adding time to their schedules on the ground and in the air.

United in 2008 finished 17th overall among the 19 airlines that report on-time numbers to the U.S. Department of Transportation. In 2009, it jumped to sixth overall, and best among the big hub-and-spoke carriers.

American still ranks dismally – 16th overall and last among the six hub-and-spoke carriers, United, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines and US Airways. However, except for United, nobody improved their numbers more than American, which had finished 19 of 19 in 2008.