US says airlines are improving at on-time performance ADVERTISING US says airlines are improving at on-time performance (AP) Airlines are doing a better job of sticking to their schedules, and consumer complaints are falling. The Department of Transportation said Monday
US says airlines are improving at on-time performance
(AP) Airlines are doing a better job of sticking to their schedules, and consumer complaints are falling.
The Department of Transportation said Monday that 84.5 percent of flights on the largest 12 U.S. airlines arrived on time during April, better than the previous month and up from 81.8 percent in April 2015.
Hawaiian Airlines and Delta Air Lines were the best at staying on schedule, while Spirit Airlines was last, arriving late more than one-fourth of the time.
Consumer complaints about U.S. airlines fell 20 percent to 870 from 1,083 in April 2015.
April flights on Hawaiian, which operates on routes that are usually blessed with good weather, arrived on time 94.1 percent of the time. Delta had a 90.3 percent on-time rating. Discount carrier Spirit arrived on time just 73.8 percent of the time.
The government counts flights as on-time if they arrive within 14 minutes of schedule.
Passengers on two domestic flights, one by American Airlines and another by Alaska Airlines, and two international flights operated by United Airlines were stuck on the ground longer than allowed by federal regulations. The Transportation Department said it was investigating; violations can bring fines.
The department said it received 870 consumer complaints about U.S. airlines, down from 1,083 in April 2015. That was a tiny fraction of the roughly 60 million people who boarded planes during the month, although many consumers who protest to airlines don’t bother to file a complaint with the government.
Southwest Airlines had the lowest rate of complaints, while Spirit had the highest rate by a wide margin.
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Here are the government’s rankings of the leading airlines and their on-time performance for April. The federal government counts a flight as on time if it arrives within 14 minutes of schedule.
1. Hawaiian Airlines, 94.1 percent
2. Delta Air Lines, 90.3 percent
3. Alaska Airlines, 89.4 percent
4. Frontier Airlines, 85.8 percent
5. SkyWest, 85.7 percent
6. ExpressJet, 85.7 percent
7. United Airlines, 85.1 percent
8. American Airlines, 83.5 percent
9. Southwest Airlines, 81.3 percent
10. JetBlue Airways, 78.9 percent
11. Virgin America, 76.4 percent
12. Spirit Airlines, 73.8 percent
Total for all reporting airlines: 84.5 percent
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Source: U.S. Department of Transportation
The report does not cover smaller airlines including Allegiant Air and some regional carriers.
Search called off for missing UNR football player
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Rescue crews have called off the search for a University of Nevada, Reno football player who went missing in Lake Tahoe.
Placer County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Dena Erwin said Saturday that 20-year-old Marc Ma was presumed drowned.
Ma had been on a paddle board trip with several football players Friday afternoon when the group encountered strong winds off Lake Tahoe’s west shore. Ma’s board was found adrift.
Ma, of Honolulu, is listed on the Nevada Wolf Pack website as a sophomore who plays defensive end.
Placer County officials say they will continue looking for Ma, but the search is now considered one of recovery, not rescue.
City seeks input on former sugar plantation village plans
HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu officials are moving forward with plans to redevelop a former sugar plantation village built in the early 1900s after promising renovations to residents of the largely neglected area decades ago.
Varona Village is one of eight communities in Ewa Villages built for Ewa Plantation Co. sugar workers and their families between 1900 and the 1950s. City plans to redevelop the site have stalled since the 1990s, due to the closure of Honolulu’s leading housing agency, failed attempts to trade the property for state land and other factors.
City officials are now looking to turn the 26-acre community, which has about 90 lots, into an affordable housing development. They plan to issue a request for proposals to seek out potential developers starting in July or August.
The city acquired Varona and the nearby Tenney and Renton villages from Oahu Sugar, Ewa Plantation Co.’s successor, when the company shut down in 1995. Former plantation workers had been told they could stay and rent their homes, and officials created a plan aimed at rehabilitating the area and giving tenants the options to buy their homes.
However, Varona didn’t receive as much attention as the other villages, which underwent renovations and had lots sold to residents and other buyers. Varona Village was left with abandoned houses and vacant lots.
“One of my concerns has been the health and safety issue regarding the dilapidated conditions of the housing,” said City Councilman Ron Menor, who represents the area. “The city made a promise to the plantation workers . that the city would eventually rehabilitate their neighborhood and community as they had with other places such as Tenney and Renton villages.”
City officials will hold a public meeting on Tuesday intended to give residents of the community a chance to provide input on the redevelopment plans.
