Alaska Airlines- Worst on time airline

The Seattle times and Anchorage Daily News is reporting that Alaska Airlines has the worst record for being on-time of any US carrier. This is according to a federal report. The airline doesn't just fly in Alaska but up and down the US west coast, to Mexico and I know they did have flights to Chicago at one time.

I flew Alaska once from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The airline didn't impress me, the flight was late. I was flying first class, and the seating and space in that part of the plane was no different than coach. So this report doesn't surprise me in the least

By Paula Dobbyn and Sarana Schell
Anchorage Daily News
ANCHORAGE -- Alaska Airlines ranked as the worst airline in the nation for on-time arrivals and departures during May, according to a new federal report.The airline said its June on-time performance also was horrible, but that July's numbers have improved.

Anchorage resident Mark Sabel is among those well aware of the airline's problems. In late June he spent five hours stranded at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport waiting for a connecting flight to California. His plane was initially delayed for half an hour. But a burned-out light on an instrument panel turned into a frustrating wait.

"Somebody came over the PA system saying the problem was initially a minor thing with the control panel. But once they opened things up, one problem led to another problem which led to another problem, all of which needed to be fixed," said Sabel, 44."I really want to be a fan of Alaska Airlines, but they're making it hard," he said.

Complaints from Alaska Airlines passengers abound lately, and with good reason. The airline with a once-strong reputation for customer service and reliability seems to be slipping.The anecdotes were confirmed last week when the U.S. Department of Transportation released a monthly report that ranked the Seattle-based carrier lowest among 20 major domestic airlines in May for on-time performance.Alaska Airlines planes left or arrived on schedule only 59 percent of the time during May.

The best performing carrier was Hawaiian Airlines, which had a 96 percent success rate, according to the federal agency.Over the previous 12 months ending in May, Alaska Airlines ranked next to last for on-time performance, the report said.

Among the worst routes nationwide for timeliness in May was Alaska Airlines flight 519 from Los Angeles to Seattle -- it was late 87 percent of the time. That score ranked it the third most-frequently delayed flight out of the thousands offered by the 20 airlines surveyed.

Other findings include

Nine percent of Alaska Airlines' flights arrived late at least 70 percent of the time. The airline flew nine of the 14 regular routes that arrived late most.

Alaska Airlines tied for the second-worst record for canceled flights.

Company officials don't deny that flight delays and cancellations have surged in recent months. The carrier is experiencing a range of problems, including labor talks, "work-force transitions," record numbers of passengers, and busy airports and airspace, Amanda Tobin, Alaska Airlines spokeswoman, said Friday.Many of these woes came to a head just as the busy travel season got under way, she said.