U.S. flight arrivals grow later

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- The on-time arrival rate for airlines fell in July from a year earlier but improved from June's poor showing, the U.S. Department of Transportation said.

The department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics said it also received 1,717 complaints from consumers about airline service, more than double the 831 complaints it received a year earlier and 56.9 percent more than June's 1,094.

U.S. carriers' domestic flights arrived on time, or within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival, 69.8 percent of the time, down from July 2006's record 73.7 percent but up from June's 68.1 percent rate.

The June arrival rate was the ninth-worst month for on-time arrivals since 1995.

Weather was responsible for 43.16 percent of July's late flights, the bureau said.

July flight cancellations also rose to 2.1 percent from a year earlier's 1.7 percent, but dropped from June's 2.7 percent rate.

Hawaiian Airlines Inc. had the highest on-time rate, at 94.7 percent. Sky West Inc. subsidiary Atlantic Southeast Airlines, flying as Delta Air Lines Inc. regional carrier Delta Connection, had the lowest, at 54.2 percent.

Utah's Salt Lake City International Airport had the best on-time performance of any U.S. airport and New York's Kennedy International Airport had the worst.