photo by Jason Meredith via Flickr
Along with the cherry blossoms and picnics in the park, fantasies of summer travel are a rite of spring. Just be sure to pay attention to how you get there, especially as the airline you select has the power to make or break a vacation. To help you choose, Forbes has released a new ranking of the world’s most reliable airlines based on arrival records for the past three summers, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Here’s what Forbes found:
- Overall, you’ve got a 1 in 4 chance of being delayed, with about 76% of major airlines’ flights arriving on time during the past three summers
- Winter may seem like bad weather for travel, but summers are far worse from the airline’s perspective, especially on the East Coast where extreme storms, and long delays, are becoming ever more common.
- Hawaiian Airlines retains the crown in both summer and winter travel, with just 6.4% of its flights late over the last three summers. In fact, it’s the only major airline with more than 90% of its planes arriving on time.
- Alaska Airlines joins Hawaiian in sticking it to the lower 48, with a second-place 86.3% on-time arrival record
- Express Jet’s name and performance go in opposite directions, giving it the worst record of all, with nearly 30% of its planes late. Be careful, it runs regional flights for Delta and United Airlines.
- For all its bad press, and East Coast headquarters, Delta comes out the strongest of the major airlines, with an on-time rate of 82%. On the flip side, United comes out the worst of the major airlines, with a record of just 72.4%.