A perfect score for Southwest Airlines — perfectly awful!

I’m a big fan of Southwest Airlines, but the latest Transportation Department report card isn’t.

I’m beginning to wonder if flying into LaGuardia was such a good idea …

Most Frequently Delayed Flights

1. Southwest Airlines flight 1142 from Baltimore to New York LaGuardia – late 100.0 percent of the time
2. Southwest Airlines flight 1229 from New York LaGuardia to Chicago Midway – late 93.75 percent of the time
3. Southwest Airlines flight 1138 from Denver to Kansas City, MO – late 93.75 percent of the time
4. Southwest Airlines flight 1599 from Baltimore to New York LaGuardia – late 87.50 percent of the time
5. Southwest Airlines flight 1925 from Baltimore to Hartford, CT – late 87.50 percent of the time
6. Southwest Airlines flight 2585 from Houston Hobby to Albuquerque, NM – late 87.50 percent of the time
7. Southwest Airlines flight 3922 from Houston Hobby to Austin, TX – late 87.50 percent of the time

OK, so three of the top seven flights can be blamed on New York’s insane air traffic problems. But what about the others?

(Photo: donbuciak/Flickr Creative Commons)

  • Jen

    Actually, I’ve flown on Southwest before many times, and although they are often late, they always had two good reasons (at least on my flights):
    1) When the first flight was late arriving and people on that flight needed to get on the second flight, the second flight waited.
    2) Same goes for the luggage. They made sure that all the suitcases from the connecting flights arrived to the plane so they would get to the next/final destination.

    #2 actually happened to me during my Christmas flight. My plane was a few minutes late and I had to sit in the back. During the 15 minute delay to wait for luggage, I saw my suitcase go up the ramp and I was thrilled that they delayed the flight since one of the late arriving suitcases was mine.

    Since Houston Hobby is one of their hubs in the area (I’m in Austin), #2 is probably the reason why was those flights were late arriving.

    I’d rather my flight be delayed and have my luggage be on that flight than my plane be on time and my luggage left at the airport.

  • http://www.terminaleight.com Richard

    Funny, I never seem to be late anytime I fly YYZ – LGA on AA.
    I know you’re a fan of SW, but I personally can’t stand them. To each their own, I suppose.

  • Joe Farrell

    irrational scheduling explains them all – and probably the airplanes to run the last 4 flights probably have cycled through BOS/LGA or MDW at SOME point during the day. HOU is not exactly the easiest place to get in or out of but I NEVER understood why MCI would delay anyone – WN probably has 70% of the flights in and out of there . . .

  • Terri

    To me, this says avoid LaGuardia, Baltimore, and Houston Hobby. 3/7 for LGA 3/7 for BWI and 2/7 for Houston.

  • Jim_J

    Perhaps Southwest’s management didn’t realize what it was getting involved with when it took over bankrupt carrier ATA’s slots at LGA. My belief is that the airline would be better of selling off these slots and concentrating on what they do best – point-to-point travel in less congested markets. For the past ten years, Southwest has been my favorite airline and my first choice for domestic travel. Recently, they are starting to look more and more like a legacy carrier. I don’t like the trend.

  • Charles

    New motto for Southwest Airlines: Bag Fly Free – Eventually…

  • Thomas

    OK, this is a SW story, but it’s about the one from a few days ago where Charleston City was going to add 5% to car rentals. They didn’t wait! http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/may/11/southwest-adds-south-carolina-destinations/news-breaking/

  • MVFlyer

    It all depends on the time of day and where the A/C was coming from. For example, according to Flightaware, Flt 1138 goes PHX-DEN-MCI. But, it’s an evening flight, and the plane from PHX has to come in from somewhere else, more than likely an airport fraught with delays. With fast turnarounds, a small delay early in the day can snowball by the time the plane is done for the night.

  • Phil

    Seven flights which are critically late out of the hundreds per day flown by WN, don’t what the big deal is over seven out of hundreds, and who really cares. What about all the Amtrak trains that are late, buses that are late, let’s see their score. It seems that we have this thing about airlines in this county like they are the “it” of all things. Are there not more important items on the agenda?

  • Joe

    Earlier this year I took my first ever flights on Southwest, a round trip from Philadelphia to Raleigh, NC. I was pleasantly surprised when the aircraft actually pulled away from the gates early both times. Although I am not a really frequent flier, I had never seen that before.

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  • Mike

    I’d blame the Hartford flight on NYC’s insane Air Traffic problems too, it’s only 2 hrs from NYC and probably has to deal with it.

    I have had no problems with Southwest. Friendly, fun, affordable, no gotchya fees….everything an airline SHOULD be. I also find their seat assignment system to be refreshing and fair.

    However, IMO anyone who flies into/out of LGA is either sadistic or nuts. Between the traffic in the air and on the ground trying to get in/out – yikes.

  • Steve

    Chris, do you know any more about the raw data that was posted other than the press release you linked to? I’m curious about a couple of things:

    First, all of those numbers are suspiciously round. 87.5% = 7/8, and 93.75% = 15/16. Is it possible that these flights aren’t operated every day and thus we’re working with a very small sample size here (not to mention that talking about one month in isolation is a very small sample size to begin with)?

    Second, what’s the criteria for determining that a flight is late? Is it one minute past the scheduled arrival time, five minutes, fifteen minutes, an hour, etc? That makes a big difference. I’d rather take a flight that is ten minutes late 100% of the time (but is never more than ten minutes late) than a flight that is on-time 75% of the time, but four hours late the other 25%.

    I couldn’t find answers to either question in the press release.

  • Mark K

    One thing I have noticed with WN is once a flight passes the point where it is considered “late” (which I think is 15 minutes past the scheduled time) they seem to lose interest in getting it off the ground. They have actually taken the plane I was supposed to be on several different times and moved it to another gate so a different flight would not be late departing. I spent 3 hours past my departure time recently in Vegas waiting for a plane while 4 other flights to the same destination were given planes that came to the gate I was supposed to depart from.

    The good news is, this does not happen often. I am on time to more destinations with WN than with any other airline I have flown lately.

  • FL Traveler

    For starters, what defines “late?” Two minutes, 30 mintues, more? I fly SW and pass thru BWI a lot and am rarely if ever late. The few delays I have encountered (past 2 years let’s say) have been attributed to waiting for passengers on other flights (if it were me, I would view it as a positive), waiting for luggage (like-wise positive) and weather (oh Lordy! – if the weather is bad, leave me on the ground!)

  • MikeZ

    @FL Traveler:
    The DOT defines “late” as a flight that arrives more than 15 minutes past its scheduled arrival time.

    Which is why these statistics are somewhat misleading. Especially for flights like WN 1142, which flies during the peak of peak periods (read: airport congestion).

    FWIW, I’m much more concerned with an airline’s rate of canceled flights and bumping of passengers with confirmed reservations — stats which are much more indicative of an airline’s performance and (lack of) respect for their passengers.

    Remember, too, the later in the day you fly, you increase the likelihood of delays, missed connections and other such fun. That’s especially true of flights arriving/departing during peak periods like 5-7 p.m.

    This story about WN is no big deal.

  • http://ckbtvl@ma.rr.com Geoffrey Millstone

    I just got to fly Southwest RT Pittsburgh Ft Lauderdale this past weekend. If you don’t mind the stupid lines and the screaming kids anad the overstuffed carry on’s (you get 2 free checked suitcases idiots) it wasn’t too bad. They were 100% early, bags got there for my 40 clients, I had leg room, and the seat were all hard as brickbacks and they all were happy to the customers. Uniforms were horrendous. I fly AIrTran for the 1st class upgrade, and will never fly SouthWest unless it is 200.00 cheaper or nessesary for group business. Good ratings for some, bad for others.

  • http://www.dullesairporthotelsguide.com Chad

    Wow! Late 100% of the time! That’s a perfect score!! However, Southwest is still probably the airline I use more than any other and am not likely to change. It’s also important to remember that late flights are not always the fault of the airline but the fault of weather (especially on the East Coast).

  • Kimberly

    Hmmm…Funny I’ve NEVER been late on a Southwest flight unless there was a significant uncontrollable reason like a “storm”. I’ve flown OTHER airlines and they have been horribly late for no significant reason. Other airlines can make you NUTZ with all their extra charges. Southwest has always been excellent for me often getting me where I need to go AHEAD of schedule.

  • Christy

    I have flown Southwest out of Hobby many times and have personally never had a problem with late flights. I have noticed that Hobby in general is greatly affected by planes arriving late due to weather events in other parts of the country. Several times, when the plane has had to make a “late” departure, the pilot made up enough time that we landed exactly on time.

    I have severe arthritis and I have always had the best treatment possible with Southwest and with Hobby. I cannot stand for long periods of time (including in security lines), and every time an employee has graciously bumped me up to the front of the line, found me a place to sit or otherwise accomodated my disability. I cannot say enough about my positive experiences with Southwest as a disabled passenger.

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