Look on the bright side: Flight delays at PHL aren't getting worse, and in one way, they're getting better.
Philadelphia improved its ranking for on-time airline departures in 2006, moving from last place to No. 27 out of 31 large airports, the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporrted today. . The agency said 72.2 percent of flights left Philadelphia on time last year, compared with 71.9 percent in 2005. In on-time arrivals, the airport was in 27th place in both years; 70.4 percent of flights arrived on time last year, compared with 71.8 percent in 2005.
Nationwide, airline delays last year rose to their highest level since 2000, the federal data shows. About 22.6 percent of flights arrived at least 15 minutes late, the most since record delays of 23.9 percent in 2000.
Comments (3)
PHL is the absolute worst airport in the US. I fly every week for work as a consultant, and can with certainty count on being at least an hour delayed in the evenings to arrive, circling somewhere over Jersey waiting for clearance to land.
The problem is too many flights (thanks, US Airways) and only one flight path and runway. Why US Airways continues to choose PHL as a hub is beyond me. The answer is LESS FLIGHTS.
Posted by Rob | February 8, 2007 8:04 AM
Posted on February 8, 2007 08:04
I still find it amazing that PHL spent over $1 billion on improvements, and until the runway problem is solved, there is no hope. There are several proposals to get at least some of the runway mess solved, but that takes years and billions to even make process. Why so many flights? Lots of fliers going to lots of places. I'd rather have UselessScareways take the hub back to PIT-where the runways are the right configuration, the concourses are far enough apart to not have tarmac backups, and things generally ran ontime. But, it's not to be. We suffer through PHL forever....
Posted by rich | February 9, 2007 9:00 PM
Posted on February 9, 2007 21:00
NBC Channel 10's coverage of US Airways baggage pile-up, as a result of last week's winter storm, provided an amusing video backdrop to your headline today (2/20/07). Jet Blue is already addressing it's mistakes and taking action while the "gray hairs" at US Airways are still pondering what to do with the piles of luggage sitting in Terminal C at Philadelphia International.
Jet Blue has been a breath of fresh air to the industry. Meanwhile, "older airlines, like US Airways" strike again and again and again.
Posted by Cheryl Richardson-Wagner | February 20, 2007 12:05 PM
Posted on February 20, 2007 12:05