Jul 09 2008
Airline Facts Stranger Than Fiction
1. Hawaiian Airlines: On-Time? In May, Hawaiian had an 89% on-time arrival rate. The highest of 19 domestic airlines.
That is not meaningful however, and here’s why. Hawaiian has the majority of its flights operating inter-island, and within approximately 100 miles from its hub in Honolulu. Add to that the lack of weather issues, and it is easy to see that these statistics aren’t helpful. They do not look separately at Hawaiian’s mainland operations, which likely operate at a much lower on-time arrival rate.
2. American and United Airlines: Late.
AA had the worst May arrival rate, with one third of its flights arriving late. United Airlines was next worst, with a 72% on-time arrival rate, followed by Continental at 75%.
3. U.S. Airways: Discontent passengers. US just announced that it will be removing its in-flight entertainment systems (initially) for mainland, Mexico and Carribean flights. Hawaii flights will likely join. Don’t look to find a plane-full of happy customers here.
4. Northwest: Joins the 1st bag fee club today. That leaves Delta and Continental as the only majors not charging. Look for that to change soon.
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“lack of weather issues”
Hmmm… Are the other airlines having weather problems during that time period?
How does the short distance give Hawaiian an advantage?
I see that one as a huge disadvantage. To my knowledge a lot of delays are caused by unscheduled mechanical issues which are even more problematic for the Hawaiian aircraft because they take off and land so frequently. (I believe that the aircraft Hawaiian operates take off and land more frequently than any other airline in the world.)
It stands to reason that this issue would cause more ware-&-tear and require more unscheduled maintenance than most mainland airlines who don’t fly as many cycles per day.
I also thought that most non-mechanical issues that cause delays are caused by the crew and disorganized flight operations with getting people & luggage on and off the plane, cleaning the plane, refueling, crew calling in sick or late for work, getting paperwork filed on time, etc, etc…
Again… with the aircraft operating so many cycles per day I would think that was a huge accomplishment for Hawaiian because if even one plane is delayed, it causes a domino effect where all other flights on the same route will be delayed.
In my opinion… The other airlines on the list have it easy compared to Hawaiian.
“They do not look separately at Hawaiian’s mainland operations, which likely operate at a much lower on-time arrival rate.”
Why would you say that?
Exactly how would that be more “likely”?
One other thing that Hawaiian Airlines does to help keep everything on-time…
They give every single employee of the company a cash bonus if the on-time rate and customer service levels meet some very high standards. So… The flight crew is somewhat under a lot of pressure to perform efficiently because if they don’t, nobody in the company will get the bonus. (Just like boot-camp. If one person screws up, everyone is punished.)
Thanks for your comment Dave.
I appreciate that you have a different point of view, also given that you worked for Hawaiian Airlines marketing.
I maintain that HA’s long-running good stats are related to weather and to the average hub to destination distances. If they have a problem, or need to move planes, it is relatively easy and quick. In addition, their inter-island 717 fleet is quite new and trouble-free.
We’ve been Platinum fliers on HA for years, and our personal experiences are consistent with what I said. That isn’t to say that Hawaiian does a bad job in on-time, as they clearly don’t. I just don’t believe it is quite as good as the statistics would lead one to believe.
Aloha, Jeff
“I maintain that HA’s long-running good stats are related to weather and to the average hub to destination distances.”
That is simply incorrect.
The incontrovertible fact is…
Hawaiian Airlines consistently wins this contest regardless of how good the whether is on the mainland.
Also… Weather & mechanical issues are not the primary contributing factors in flight delays. It’s disorganized people.
Hawaiian was one of the worst airlines in this area for a long, long time. So was Aloha.
Aloha started showing good numbers in this area beginning in 2006 but it took them several years to closely match Hawaiians operational performance.
Something to keep in mind… Hawaiian Airlines is not just the most punctual airline… Hawaiian also dominates the industry with best baggage handling and every other customer service issue the DOT reports.
The people at Hawaiian Airlines are simply faster and more efficient in these areas because they are better trained and more organized.