Poll examines punctuality and baggage loss across Europe
May 9, 2006If you've ever suffered delays at airports or had the misfortune of an airline losing your baggage, you'll be interested to see which companies perform best in these categories.
The Association of European Airlines (AEA) has published their quarterly consumer report, which releases punctuality figures from data provided by 27 AEA member airlines, alongside baggage loss figures for 26 airlines.
The data for the first quarter of 2006 (January to March) shows that around 79 per cent of short and medium haul flights across the airlines polled were on time over the last three months, slipping slightly from 80 per cent over the same period the previous year. Long haul punctuality dropped from 70 per cent to 68 per cent.
Regularity, a measure of planned flights that actually operated, was 97 per cent for short and medium haul flights and 99 per cent for long haul services across the airlines polled.
The report found that bmi, the UK's second-largest airline, performed well all round. Some 84 per cent of the airline's short and medium haul arrivals, together with 88 per cent of departures, were on time. The airline also managed a flight regularity figure of 99 per cent.
British Airways (BA) posted mixed results in terms of punctuality. It dropped below the AEA member average figure for short and medium haul flights, with 77 per cent of departures being on-time, but managed better in terms of regularity. Some 99 per cent of its scheduled short and medium haul flights operated, meaning BA ranked seventh out of 27 in this category.
BA consolidated this reliability with its long-haul flight regularity – a figure of 99 per cent put it in third place, behind only Icelandair and SAS Scandinavian Airways.
Topping the poll for short and medium haul punctuality was Malev Hungarian Airlines, followed by Luxair in second place.
Best for short and medium haul regularity were Tarom Romanian Airlines and Icelandair, in joint first position. The latter performed particularly well all-round, also topping the table for long haul flight regularity with every one of its scheduled flights operating.
The report also looked at baggage loss figures and found that Air Malta, SN Brussels and Turkish Airlines are all unlikely to lose your bags if you fly with them.
Air Malta lost only 4 bags per thousand passengers, out of 321,061 people flown, meaning the airline topped the list as most secure for baggage. SN Brussels and Turkish also performed well.
Meanwhile BA managed to lose 16 bags per thousand passengers, putting the carrier in 20th position out of 26 in the AEA table. Iberia and Lufthansa also performed badly, losing 19.7 and 19.8 bags per thousand respectively. The higher loss rate for these airlines can be partly put down to the larger number of passengers carried.
On average, across the AEA member airlines polled, 85 per cent of missing bags are found and returned to passengers within 48 hours.
The AEA is a non-profit-making association that serves the common interests of its members. It represents the interests of European airlines to the institutions of the European Union.
© Adfero Ltd
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