SOUTHWEST ONTIME FREE

In an attempt to improve its on-time rates, Southwest last week changed its schedule, extending for some routes the total time it allots for such tasks as flying, taxiing, loading and unloading passengers, and preparing the aircraft for the next flight.Д«ut delays on Southwest could continue in the near term. вЂњWe are aware of the pain points in our network, and we continue to work on schedule adjustments that will improve our future performance,вЂќ he said. Meanwhile, airline competitors have slowly improved their on-time rates, raising the bar on performance.Д«ut the reason for the recent terrible on-time rates - namely August, September and October - has been вЂњa combination of unexpected summer weather and changes made to our schedule,вЂќ said Southwest spokesman Brian Parrish. Because Southwest is not strictly a hub-and-spoke airline, and doesnвЂ™t fly as many back-and-forth flights as major network carriers do, its spare aircraft are less often in places where theyвЂ™re needed, which can lead to delays, Kaplan said. вЂњSouthwest schedules its planes so tightly, to maximize efficiency and keep fares low, that even a slight delay early in the morning can snowball into a larger delay through the balance of the day,вЂќ he said.ДЄnd through the years, Southwest has expanded into congested air markets more prone to delays, such as New York. For one, Southwest has a penchant for scheduling flights close together, giving little wiggle room when flights encounter weather problems, for example, said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst at Hudson Crossing. The reasons for SouthwestвЂ™s on-time woes are many. вЂњAlthough they have transitioned in recent years to more of a revenue-focused airline, theyвЂ™ve always been an airline that got the operation right.вЂќ Seth Kaplan, managing partner at Airline Weekly, said it was surprising to see Southwest at the bottom of the heap of any consumer ranking. ThatвЂ™s down significantly from its 77 percent on-time rate at Midway last year. ItвЂ™s certainly part of the reason that Midway, as an airport, has an on-time departure rate this year of 68.7 percent, the worst in the United States through the first 10 months of the year. It is the first time since at least 1995, when the current DOT reporting system began, that Southwest ranked last for any month.ДЄt Midway, where Southwest has more departures than any other airport, the airlineвЂ™s on-time rate this year has been abysmal, with an average of only two of three flights departing on time, according to the most recent DOT statistics.

SOUTHWEST ONTIME FREE

It typically sits atop customer satisfaction ratings, with such consumer-friendly policies as free checked bags and no fees to change a flight.Д«ut recently, Dallas-based Southwest has had the worst on-time rates in America - a shocking turn for an airline that once topped the industry in punctuality year after year and regularly bragged about it.ДЇor the second consecutive month, Southwest has placed at the bottom of the monthly on-time statistics, according to data reported to the Department of Transportation. ItвЂ™s perennial consumer favorite Southwest Airlines, the dominant carrier out of Chicago Midway International Airport and the airline that will fly more Chicago passengers this holiday season - and this year - than any other airline. And itвЂ™s not an ultra-discounter like Spirit Airlines. ItвЂ™s not an airline that cynics love to hate, mega-carriers United Airlines or American Airlines.

CHICAGO - A major airline in Chicago suddenly canвЂ™t seem to get passengers to their destinations on time, posting worst-in-the-industry on-time rates.Д«ut, surprise.

Southwest ontime