Flight delays USA lowest since 1995

The American government has been tracking the ‘on time performance’ of airline companies since 1995. Between the first of January and the 30th of April of 2012, the number of flights that was delayed was relatively low. For this survey, flights of the 15 largest airline companies were analyzed on their performance. It was found that 84,5% of all flights was on time. The American companies performed significantly better than their European counterparts: in Europe, an average of 27% of all flights was delayed, meaning an on time performance of 73% was scored.

According to CNBC (Consumer News and Business Channel), this positive percentage is the result of a decline in the number of active planes and of favourable weather conditions. Hawaiian, Airtran en Delta performed the best. Airline companies of which many flights suffered delays are American, United and ExpressJet.

If your flight from Europe to the USA was delayed for more than 3 hours, you are entitled to compensation, as well as if this occurred on a flight from the USA to Europe with a European airline company. If, however, you fly to Europe with an American airline and your flight is delayed, you are never entitled to compensation under European legislation.

Source: Business news