Airlines Boost On-Time Rating, But Storms Create Long Delays

The latest government report shows airlines doing a little better at arriving on time.

The Transportation Department said Tuesday that 80.5 percent of flights operated by the leading airlines were on time in May, up from 76.9 percent in May 2014.

But the on-time rating is down slightly from April, and there were 16 flights that were stuck on the tarmac longer than federal rules allow. Ten of those flights were on the same stormy day at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

Among the 14 airlines covered in the report, Spirit Airlines has the highest complaint rate.

Here are the government’s rankings of the leading airlines and their on-time performance for May. The federal government counts a flight as on time if it arrives within 14 minutes of schedule.

1. Hawaiian Airlines, 90.9 percent
2. Alaska Airlines, 88.0 percent
3. Delta Air Lines, 87.2 percent
4. US Airways, 84.5 percent
5. JetBlue Airways, 84.3 percent
6. SkyWest, 82.1 percent
7. Southwest Airlines, 78.6 percent
8. American Airlines, 78.3 percent
9. ExpressJet, 77.6 percent
10. Envoy Air, 77.1 percent
11. United Airlines, 76.6 percent
12. Virgin America, 76.0 percent
13. Frontier Airlines, 73.1 percent
14. Spirit Airlines, 61.2 percent

Total for all reporting airlines: 80.5 percent

The department also reported American and US Airways together as 80.9 percent. Both airlines and Envoy Air are owned by American Airlines Group Inc. The report does not cover smaller airlines including Allegiant Air and many regional carriers.