Cheaply priced cheap airplane tickets or cheap vacation packages cant offset the frustration passengers feel when they are involuntarily stranded in planes on runways for three hours or more. The great news is that the Transportation Department runway delay rule instituted on April 29th has dramatically reduced the frequency of such delays.
There were three flights in July that experienced runway delays in excess of three hours vs. 161 such flights in July of 09. All flights experiencing extended runway delays were American Eagle flights departing from Chicagos OHare airport on July 23rd. The delays were attributed to a severe thunderstorm that passed through Chicago that day.
Airlines were against this new runway delay rule when it was announced because it heavily penalizes them if flights sit on runways over three hours, claiming that this rule would result in significantly more flights being cancelled. The nations 9 largest airlines cancelled 1.4 percent of their scheduled domestic flights in July vs. 1.2 percent in July of 09.
July is the third full month since the new aviation consumer rule went into effect, with airlines facing fines of up to $27,500 per passenger for runways delays over three hours. Between May through July there were 7 extended runway delays vs. 321 such delays in the same time frame last year, for a decline of 98 percent.
U.S. airlines continued to report improved on-time rates in July, turning in an almost a 77 percent on-time rate vs. a 15 year July average of 75 percent.
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