For the second month in a row, Frontier Airlines ranked fourth among major U.S. carriers for its on-time performance in February, and its complaint rate dropped from the previous month.
The Denver-based ultra-low-cost carrier’s flights were on time 87.3 percent of the time, , according to U.S. Department of Transportation .
For the 12 months ending in February, Frontier averaged an on-time rate of 76.5 percent, which put it at No. 10 among the major carriers. The airline struggled last year with its transition to an ultra-low-cost model.
“It shows the hard work of all our employers over the past year since we restructured the airline,” Frontier spokesman Jim Faulkner said. “There’s been a really strong focus on running an on-time operation. When your flights are on time, that helps everything else fall into place.”
Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time rate at 91.9 percent, followed by Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines, according to the DOT data. Spirit Airlines had the worst performance at 63.2 percent. The 12 reporting carriers averaged an 83.6 percent on-time rate.
Flights are considered late if they arrive more than 14 minutes past schedule.
Frontier canceled 1.6 percent of its flights in February.
Denver International Airport also saw a small uptick in its on-time rate to 88 percent, from 87.2 percent in January. Six airlines arrived on time at DIA more than 80 percent of the time in February, with its two largest carriers — United Airlines and Southwest — leading the pack at 90.5 percent.
On passenger complaints, Frontier’s rate fell to 3.73 per 100,000 boardings in February from a rate of 4.06 in January. In February 2015, Frontier had the worst complaint rate among the major carriers at 14.38.
Faulkner said Frontier began a year-long customer service training program in January for employees companywide. The bulk of the training is happening in Denver, but Denver employees also are flying to other cities to work with employees on-site.
“The numbers year over year show we’re seeing early results, and we recognize we still have work to do,” Faulkner said.
Frontier is launching new routes this week, including the return of , with the inaugural flight on Thursday.
On-time rankings in february
Hawaiian Airlines, 91.9 percent
Alaska Airlines, 89.3 percent
Southwest Airlines, 87.8 percent
Frontier Airlines, 87.3 percent
Delta Airlines, 86.4 percent
United Airlines, 86.2 percent
Virgin America, 84.6 percent
American Airlines, 83 percent
Skywest Airlines, 81.9 percent
ExpressJet Airlines, 78.5 percent
JetBlue Airways, 68.9 percent
Spirit Airlines, 63.2 percent
