www.CostaRicaTicas.com

here is an article on airline delays. my last two trips, on AA and Avianca were delayed on both ends. this is a tough situation if one has connecting flights.

basically, I would expect to be delayed under current conditions.

maybe things will get better for awhile after Labor Day.


Nearly 32% of flights delayed in June, worst 6 months in 13 years
Associated Press
12:26 PM EDT, August 6, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Nearly a third of domestic flights on major U.S. airlines were late in June, and delays in the first six months of the year soared to the highest level since the government began tracking them 13 years ago.

At least part of the explanation for the increasing delays is that demand for air travel is rising. In addition, the government said nearly 45 percent of late flights were delayed by bad weather, up 7 bercent from the same month last year.

The on-time arrival rate in June was just above 68 percent, compared with roughly 73 percent a year earlier, according to Department of Transportation data. So far in 2007, nearly 25 percent of flights on the 20 largest carriers have arrived late, the agency said.



Travelers on Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a regional carrier for Delta Air Lines Inc., had it worst in June, as about 56 percent of flights arrived on time.

AMR Corp.'s American Airlines was barely better, with an on-time arrival rate of about 58 percent. US Airways Group Inc., had an on-time rate of about 62 percent

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Not for nothing...one of my wingmen was booked on 11 p.m. Spirit flight last night out of Ft. Lauderdale to SJO. Before going to airport he called and said flight was 45 minutes late for "air traffic contoller" difficulties. He got to airport and check in and security were no problem.
Once in the "Secure" portion of airport he said Spirit changed gate 4 times and by 1 a.m. (they announced flight was to leave at 3 a.m.) he said screw it and left airport and went home. He had gotten ticket for $70 during a promotion. He also said Spirit flight to NYC was delayed forever.

I just got back from a two week trip to Spain. I had to catch a connecting flight from JFK to DULLES on Delta. The flight was delayed by 2 hours, and to make matters worse, after boarding the plane, we sat on the tarmac for one hour waiting for clearance to take off due to heavy congestion . I had read an article that this is typical for JFK......heavy congestion due to excessive traffic. I'm going to try to avoid JFK in the future.

Zebra

As was discussed in a previous thread Spirit is having labor relations problems with it's flight crews. Most of the delays can be attributed to that but they seem to have come up with imaginative excuses to pin the delays on problems outside of their control such as weather, air traffic controllers, etc. Just another example of how unprofessional they are.

Word on the street is that they have hired 3 HDR girls, who are expert at concocting stories for RFM's, to be their advisory panel on excuses for poor performance

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JFK... During rush hour (7am-midnight ), it can be bad. There could be 30 planes in line for take-off. Lucky for me, TACA flies at 5:30 or 6:30am, so security line is usually very short and no lines for take-off, always on-time.

ID;
Given Spirit's fares those girls should decline the jobs and stay at HDR. Unless they get insurance and 401(k) at Spirit (both doubtful). Maybe they could work from CR?
I did see the previous thread about labor relations problems and had warned my wingman yesterday afternoon of the problems, even citing the statistics I read on this very board!
Just hope they get me to San Jose timely Labor Day weekend. Then I can retire from flying Spirit and take advantage of AA from FLL-SJO.

Headline story of yesterdays USA Today:

Fliers packed planes in July
U.S. air travelers faced some of the most crowded jetliners ever in July as at least seven major carriers reported record percentages of filled seats.
American (AMR), Continental (CAL), Delta (DAL), US Airways (LCC), AirTran (AAI) and Alaska Airlines (ALK) announced their most crowded planes for any month, with nearly 90% of all seats full on domestic flights.
Southwest (LUV) reported a record for July, historically one of any year's busiest travel months. And Northwest was up slightly from July 2006, with more than 88% of seats filled.
The packed planes represent welcome economic news for airlines coping with high fuel costs and other expenses. Jim Whitehurst, Delta's chief operating officer, said his airline expects continued "solid demand moving forward."
But for travelers, the crowding makes an empty adjacent seat a disappearing luxury and complicates rebooking if a flight is canceled.
"It's probably going to be perceived as the worst month ever" for passengers, says Robert Mann, president of R.W. Mann & Co., a New York-based airline industry consulting firm.
It's no longer a question of booking on the next flight, Mann says. "It's a question of how many hours — or how many days — it will take until you can get on the next flight."
Ines Lormand, a senior curriculum specialist for McGraw-Hill's Wright Group, an educational publishing unit, says her business travel this summer, mostly on Continental, has featured "nothing but full planes."
July storms around George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, her home base, canceled two of Lormand's flights. Her Continental platinum membership enabled her to get rebooked on the next flight each time. Still, the crowding is taking a toll on even some of the airlines' most reliable customers.
Ken Coker, owner of an automotive consulting business in Norman, Okla., is a Delta frequent flier whose platinum privileges enable him to change flights within three hours of departure at no cost. But this summer he's found it difficult to get on alternate flights. After finishing a business meeting ahead of schedule on Thursday in Milwaukee, Coker decided to fly home early. But there were no available seats. "So I got home considerably later than I had hoped," he says.
Summer vacationers and other pleasure travelers likely face even more inconvenience if flight cancellations force them to reschedule trips.
"The super-elite travelers tend to get handled a little more with K*D gloves," Mann says. "That's not typically the case for the infrequent flier who paid a low fare."

Full planes = Delays…
Mendo

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