Delta again in 2015 was among the top operational performer among the 13 airlines that report to the Department of Transportation, according to the agency’s December and year-end Air Travel Consumer Report, published Thursday.
The airline took the No. 3 spot in domestic mainline on-time performance and completion factor—the measure of flights completed as scheduled—behind Hawaiian and Alaska airlines, two airlines with largely regional operations not exposed to severe weather events, air traffic control initiatives and other factors. Delta topped similar-sized American, United and Southwest.
The solid operational performance comes as the airline delivered to its customers a record 214 mainline cancel-free days across its domestic network in 2015. Delta’s high finish relative to global carriers American and United also means we achieved the goals of our Operational Performance Commitment, introduced August 2015.
“For another year, Delta people have driven stellar operational performance, continuing to outpace our peers and deliver the reliability our customers count on,” said Dave Holtz, Delta’s Senior Vice President – Operations and Customer Center. “Our record-breaking 2015 is a testament to the remarkable work of all 80,000 women and men who come to work every day with their game face on to do what’s best for our customers and each other.”
Delta had a year-end domestic on-time performance of 85.9 percent compared to first place finisher Hawaiian at 88.4 percent and second place Alaska at 86.4 percent. Delta ended the year completing 99.56 percent of its flights as scheduled, taking a close third to Alaska 99.61 percent and first place Hawaiian at 99.78 percent.
Virgin America led the industry in baggage performance with 0.84 reports per 1,000 passengers with just shy of seven million total enplanements in the full year 2015. Delta’s third place finish—at 2.08—was the highest among large network carriers and came as the airline flew well over 117 million customers on a domestic mainline basis.
The strong ops performance triggered a full Shared Rewards payout for December; eligible employees in 2015 saw an added $1,175 in their paychecks, hitting 35 of 36 internal and relative goals.
