Flight delays are a common cause of disappointment at airports – this Wednesday alone there were more than 2,000 delays on flights within, into or out of the U.S., according to FlightAware. There is a flip side to this – schedule padding.
CBS correspondent Peter Greenberg revealed this phenomenon for the “Eye on Travel” report on KYW Newsradio.
“Some airlines pad their schedules to allow for airport delays on departure,” he said. “Yes. Consider the case of American Airlines Flight 1487, which operates every day from New York’s JFK to Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in Arizona. The flight is listed as a 10 a.m. departure with a 12:45 p.m. local time arrival.”
Even though the flight departed from the gate at JFK at least 20 minutes late every day in one recent week, it still arrived in Phoenix on time – or nearly 40 minutes early – every time.
In light of this practice, Greenberg has a hint for travelers: “If you are making a tight connection in Phoenix, check real-time on-time stats online by searching the airline and flight number.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, national on-time travel performance was at a little more than 78% last year. Aircraft arriving late accounted for nearly 8% of flights that did not arrive on time, while weather delays and national aviation system delays were other causes.