More people jumped out of US airports on Sunday — according to 2.46 million To Transportation Security Administration — More than any other day of the year. Thursday and Friday, which will be the holiday of July 4, is expected to be even busier. hopper, Travel booking app. It is estimated that about 13 million passengers will fly around the United States and abroad this weekend.
The question for many travelers is whether they can trust the airline to take them where they want to go on time.
You can’t blame them for the answer no. According to flight tracking company FlightAware, nearly one-third of flights arrived late on Friday, June 17, before the holiday on Monday, June 16.Between last Saturday and Monday prior to the weekend of July 4, US aircraft carriers have already Canceled nearly 2,500 flights.. At a meeting on June 16th, Secretary of Transportation Pete Butigeg told the airline he Get used to Carefully monitor their performance. the next day, His own flight from From Washington to New York it was cancelled..
and Tuesday letterSenator Bernie Sanders urged Butigeg to begin scrutiny of the airline, especially due to severe cancellations and delays. In other proposals, he suggested that airlines should pay $ 55,000 per passenger for canceled flights that were previously apparently unstaffable.
However, it is worth digging into the cancellation and delay data to gain insights into the changes and changes in this year’s trip before deferring future trips.
Equivalent time of 2019 with the percentage of cancellations so far this year: 2.8% and 2.1%.
Lesson: The idea that air travel was much better before the pandemic was clouded by the nostalgia of the Before Times.
Social media is full of declarations that air travel is the worst ever. Indeed, on some holiday weekends and stormy weeks, it was surprisingly terrible.As Mr. Sanders I got it In his letter, the airline canceled flights four times as often in 2019 on busy weekends. But in reality, even before the pandemic, airline credibility was pretty terrible.
US airlines operate 21,000 to 25,000 flights a day in recent months. So far, in 2022, an average of one of the five flights a day arrived behind schedule. According to FlightAware, there are more than 820,000 delayed flights in total. Over 116,000 flights have been cancelled. All of this sums up tens of thousands of people working on ways to save weddings, funerals, work events and save vacations. But in the equivalent period of 2019, it wasn’t that good. At that time, they arrived 17% late instead of 20%, with an average delay of 48 minutes instead of 49 minutes.
“I think the reason people are more aware of it is because it’s gathered during these vacation periods,” said Kathleen Bangs, a former commercial pilot who is now a spokeswoman for FlightAware.
Holiday weekends have always been a bit of a bet, but the crew staffing issues that have been expanded by ambitious schedules mean less system slack, said airline consulting firm RW Mann & Company. Bob Mann, a longtime airline executive who runs the company, said. Weather that could have canceled dozens of flights at some airports is now likely to have a much more dramatic spillover effect, canceling thousands of flights at dozens of airports. This is especially true for low-cost carriers like JetBlue and Spirit Airlines. These airlines canceled 10.3% and 9% flights in April. According to the Department of Transportation Statistics..
“A number like 10 percent I’ve never seen before,” Mann said.
If you want to incorporate protection in case a flight is canceled, do not book the last flight of the day. He advised Shawn Pruchnicki, a former aviation pilot and professor of aviation safety at Ohio State University.
Unreliable airports: Newark, LaGuardia, Orlando
Lesson: The main hub has always been a nightmare, especially on busy weekends. Changes in travel patterns and the problem of air traffic control staffing exacerbated them.
So far this year, two airports in the New York region, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia, have had the most cancellations in the United States, according to FlightAware data. This is about 6 percent of all flights. In terms of delays, Newark is also one of the two worst airports departing by plane, delivering people to their destinations in nearly 30% of the time. Only Orlando International had a similar percentage of delayed flights.
In general, the flight from Florida was rough. More than one in four flights at Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa airports have been delayed so far this year. According to FlightAware data, only flights from Dallas Love Field Airport and Chicago Midway Airport arrived late at relatively low rates.
Neither region can blame the complete lack of credibility for coronavirus-related issues. But for reasons related to pandemics, each is getting worse, aviation experts say.
Travel hub airports such as New York City have had longer cancellations and delays than other airports, Dr. Purtinicki said. This is partly due to the design. If the airline needs to cut the flight, use the flight from New York as a sacrificial lamb “to provide more options for rerouting passengers”.
New York City has also long been vulnerable to delays, as air traffic controllers have to distribute the activities of numerous airports within 50 miles of each other. “It’s a flying spaghetti ball,” said Mann, a former airline executive.
Recently, at least according to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, there weren’t enough air traffic controllers to manage spaghetti.
“They are doing everything they can, but like many in the business world, they are understaffed,” Carby told Bloomberg. last week. In an internal memo, United Airlines outlined plans to temporarily reduce 50 flights from Newark on July 1 and “move flights on time.”
In Florida, the center of the matter is the state’s super-popularity as a destination for vacations and relocations, some analysts said. Airlines are responding by increasing the number of flights. However, as is often the case in Florida, when a thunderstorm strikes, air traffic control in the region has already reached its limits, making it harder for airlines to return to orbit than before, Embry’s flight department chairman said. One Kenneth Burns said. -Riddle Aviation University in Daytona Beach, Florida.
That said, avoiding the hub may not be the way to go, some analysts say. If the flight is canceled, the hub offers more options for rebooking.
The most lagging major airline in recent months: JetBlue
Lesson: Paying more for a proven airline ticket on time may be worth a short trip.
Over the past three months, JetBlue, Allegiant Air and Frontier Airlines have arrived late at night in one-third of the time, averaging nearly an hour behind. FlightAware data. According to the Annual Airline Quality Assessment Report, the three low-cost carriers were also the most behind in 2021. analysis Of the Ministry of Transport data published by Wichita State University in Wichita, Kang.
JetBlue is throughout the pandemic Often blamed Staffing for delays and cancellations. In a statement on Thursday, an airline spokesman said the airline had enough pilots and other crew members to shorten the required schedule and now continue to carry out the flight at the scheduled time. Said that. The airline has blamed most of the recent delays in air traffic control issues in the “crowded weather-prone northeast corridor.”
In a statement, a spokeswoman said, “We have decided to reduce our flights by more than 10% this summer, which will ensure that our schedule is operational due to current staffing and other domestic aviation system constraints. You will be able to do it. ” “Because of the reduced capacity, JetBlue had enough pilots and in-flight crew to run the June schedule,” she added.
The Transport Workers’ Union, which represents JetBlue’s flight attendants, has been worried about delays and cancellations with the company. Gary Peterson, international vice president of the union, said Thursday that he thought it was a fake to explain poor flight performance, primarily as a matter of weather and air traffic control. “In the usual way, JetBlue is trying to blame everyone but their own leadership team for the failure of the airlines of the crew, not just the passengers,” he said.
A lesson for the average traveler may be to pay close attention to which airline sells the ticket before clicking on the purchase. Losing even an hour may not be worth the $ 100 savings, especially on short weekend trips. In recent months, we haven’t been able to trust major airlines to arrive more than 90% of the time, but rarely before the pandemic, Delta, Hawaiian, Alaska and United have more than 80% of their flights. Closest in.According to, arrived on time FlightAware When Transport Bureau data.
Ultimately, if you want to make sure your flight isn’t canceled or delayed, it seems best to skip air travel on busy weekends.
Delta Air Lines was booked to fly between July 1st and July 4th on Thursday, and for those who want to switch to another date before July 8th, change fees and ticket prices. It seems that they are providing that advice when they say they are exempt from the difference.
“My advice is to buy a hot dog and stay home,” said Dean Headley, co-author of Wichita State University’s airline rankings, for this July 4th weekend.
