Travelocity Business(SM) Offers Insight to Help Travelers Avoid Flight Delays as Report Shows Decline in Airline On-Time Perform
March 18 2004 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Travelocity Business(SM) Offers Insight to Help Travelers Avoid
Flight Delays as Report Shows Decline in Airline On-Time
Performance Former FAA Command Center Air Traffic Management
Specialist Rally Caparas Equips Business Travelers With the
Know-How onAvoiding Delays, Congested Airports, and Missed Flights
SOUTHLAKE, Texas, March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Travelers experienced a
64 percent decline in airline on-time arrival this January compared
to the same month in 2003, according to a report from theFederal
Aviation Administration (FAA). The report showed that on-time
performance went from 83.4 percent in January last year, to 74.9
percent this January. And while carrier delays and late flights
most affected on-time performance, weather conditions played a much
larger role in delays than one might think upon an initial glance
at the report's numbers. As business travelers start planning trips
during the coming spring storm season, Travelocity Business(SM)
correspondent and former FAA air traffic controller Rally Caparas
offers vital tips on avoiding the time crunch with flight delays,
airport congestion and missed flight connections. According to
Caparas, "If you look at the surface data, it appears that weather
directly accounted for only6 to 7 percent of flight delays, but
before travelers get upset with their airlines or the FAA, it's
important to note that weather plays a role in about 80 percent of
traveler delays. As we head into the spring storm season, travelers
may want to consider how they can plan trips to avoid these
potential delays." Caparas' checklist for some of the best
suggested ways to avoid potential flight delays are based on
timing: -- When traveling into or out of the East or Gulf Coasts of
the United States, especially between March 15th and October 15th,
schedule flights to depart out of, or arrive into these regions
before 1:00 p.m. local time. -- This helps avoid most of the severe
thunderstorm activity, peak periods of air traffic volume and
associated lengthy delays. -- When traveling out of or into the
West Coast airports (from Seattle through San Diego), schedule
flights to depart from or arrive into the region after 1:00 p.m.
Pacific Standard Time. -- The marine layer fog, which is an almost
daily event, causes reduced visibility at the airports and
frequently results in flight delays. -- The fog usually dissipates
by about 1:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time each day. The occurrence
of flight delays can be explained by how the FAA uses the National
Airspace System to monitor and control flight traffic at 40 top
airports, says Caparas. These facilities represent a fraction of
all airports, but the vast majority of commercial flights either
originates at, or goes through, these major "hubs". Each airport
has a pre-determined maximum arrival and departure rate during
ideal conditions. When the weather becomes poor, or the runway
configurations are forced to change based on wind direction, a
runway closed for maintenance, or aircraft emergencies, the FAA
must implement some sort of delay program to control the flow of
air traffic, minimizing the impact of these events on a particular
airport. In addition to knowing the pitfalls for delays, Caparas
emphasizes that business travelers with time constraints can make
other smart choices to help make their travel as efficient and easy
as possible. Some of these tips include: -- Schedule flights into
and out of alternative local or smaller airports that are less
congested with people and traffic such as Burbank in Los Angeles,
Midway Airport in Chicago, or Hartford Airport instead of Boston
Logan. -- If "time is money", purchase a non-stop ticket. Every
time you land or depart during a trip, you significantly increase
the odds of being delayed. -- If you do schedule flights other than
non-stop, avoid scheduling very tight connections as a slight delay
on one leg could cost more lost time and cause hassles associated
with a missed connection. Rally Caparas delivers updated flight
delay information at http://www.travelocitybusiness.com/ . As an
air traffic management specialist and daily CNN correspondent out
of Atlanta with his "Eye on The Sky" program, Caparas is the
country's leading source for analysis and news content regarding
aviation-related incidents, airline events and travel advice. His
experience includes 13 years as an FAA air traffic controller in
numerous areas of the country, and he designed and managed the
national air traffic delay programs for the FAA and the airlines,
while serving as an Air Traffic Management Specialist at the FAA's
Air Traffic Control System Command Center near Washington, D.C.
About Travelocity Business Travelocity Business is a full-service
corporate travel agency that helps companies easily manage travel
and reduce costs, while providing more choices to
travelers.Travelocity Business combines the savings and convenience
of online with the full service of dedicated agents available 24/7
who typically answer the phone in 20 seconds, and within 60 seconds
guaranteed. Companies can cut travel costs through flightdeals, Web
fares, hotel discounts and service fee savings -- representing an
average savings of more than $142 per trip, including airfare
savings averaging 26 percent per ticket and service fee savings of
up to 84 percent. Travelocity Business mergesthe expertise, service
and travel choices of Travelocity(R) with the most proven online
corporate travel technology, already used by more than half of the
Fortune 200. For more information, companies can visit
http://www.travelocitybusiness.com/ . About Travelocity
Travelocity, a Sabre Holdings(TM) company, the pioneer in online
travel, gives consumers access to hundreds of airlines, thousands
of hotels, cruise, last-minute and vacations packages,
entertainment tickets, best-in-class car rental companies, and
ground transportation all backed by 24-hour customer service. With
41 million members, Travelocity is the sixth largest travel agency
in the United States and has been recognized for its global
leadership in online travel and powers five multi-lingual travel
Web sites worldwide. Sabre Holdings Corporation (NYSE:TSG) is a
world leader in travel commerce, retailing travel products and
providing distribution and technology solutions for the travel
industry. More information about Sabre Holdings is available at
http://www.sabre-holdings.com/ . Contact: Mary Kate Smither ( )
Chintan Talati ( ) 972/488-4790 VOLLMER DATASOURCE: Travelocity
Business CONTACT: Mary Kate Smither, , or Chintan Talati, , both of
VOLLMER, +1-972-488-4790, for Travelocity Business Web site:
http://www.travelocitybusiness.com/ http://www.travelocity.com/
http://www.sabre-holdings.com/
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