WASHINGTON-
U.S. airlines were less punctual in November, the federal government said Wednesday, with delays in the Northeast particularly troublesome for Delta subsidiary Comair.
The on-time arrival rate for the nation’s 20 largest airlines dipped to 76.5 percent, compared with 80 percent a year earlier, according to the Department of Transportation’s monthly Air Travel Consumer Report.
The airlines also canceled 1.6 percent of their scheduled domestic flights in November, a 60 percent increase from 1 percent in the year-ago period.
Aloha Airlines had the best on-time rate at 93.2 percent, followed by Hawaiian Airlines at 90.9 percent and Frontier Airlines at 87.1 percent. Those three also occupied the top spots in October, but Aloha leapfrogged Hawaiian into the No. 1 position.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines had the worst on-time arrival rate at 65.7 percent, followed by Comair at 66.8 percent, and JetBlue Airways at 70.1 percent.
Comair was alone on the list of the five most frequently delayed flights, all of which were late at least 96 percent of the time. Four departed from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport with arrivals in Boston, Atlanta and two Washington, D.C. airports, and the fifth left from Washington’s Reagan National Airport to JFK, according to the government report.
American Eagle Airlines had the highest rate of canceled flights at 3.5 percent, followed by Comair at 3 percent, and SkyWest Airlines at 2.7 percent.
Continental and JetBlue had the lowest cancellation rates at 0.3 percent each, followed by Frontier at 0.5 percent.
Shares of Continental Airlines Inc. added $2.69, or 6.5 percent, to $43.94, while American Eagle parent AMR Corp. gained $2.67, or 8.8 percent, to $32.9, both on the New York Stock Exchange.
JetBlue Airways Corp. rose 90 cents, or 6.3 percent, to $15.10, Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. slid 22 cents, or 3 percent, to $7.18, while shares of SkyWest Inc. added 64 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $26.15, all on the Nasdaq.
Shares of Hawaiian Holdings Inc. dipped 6 cents to $4.84 on the American Stock Exchange, while Delta Air Lines Inc. added 8 cents, or 6.2 percent, to $1.38 in over-the-counter trading.
