Delta and its connection carriers flew 534,000 people on a busy Sunday and there were no flights canceled. Zilch. Zero. Nada.
Every airline aims for no cancelations in a day and while it’s an ambitious goal, Delta has achieved that nearly a dozen times this month. But for various reasons – some within an airline’s control, some not – a 100 percent flight “completion factor” isn’t an every-day occurrence for airlines.
So to pitch a perfect game – not only Delta mainline, but its smaller connection carriers as well – was a remarkable achievement.
Let’s take a closer look at this uncommon Sunday. By the numbers:
4,900 flights scheduled across the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
6 Delta Connection carriers (Compass Airlines, Endeavor Air, ExpressJet, GoJet, Shuttle America, SkyWest Airlines) that each achieved a 100 percent completion factor day.
84.7 percent of Sunday’s flying arrived within 15 minutes of schedule (the U.S. Department of Transportation’s on-time threshold)
4 air traffic control ground-delay programs challenged Delta employees at New York-JFK, Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco (due to weather and runway construction). But again, none of these Federal Aviation Administration programs led to a cancelation.
4 diversions were needed but all continued on to their scheduled destination. One was a customer medical situation. Another was planned for payload and headwind conditions. Another two were weather-related but quickly resumed their course.
11 days in June with a 100 percent completion factor at Delta mainline (excluding the six Delta Connection operators).
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