Skift Take

US Airways didn't do better than Delta, but it outranked acquisition target American Airlines by every measurement.

US Airways Group Inc., the Tempe, Ariz.-based carrier that is seeking a merger with American Airlines, reported on Tuesday a record January load factor — the percentage of seats filled — of 81.1 percent, 2.3 points higher than January 2012.

US Airways also reported it flew 4.85 billion revenue passenger miles in January, a 4.8 percent increase compared with the same month a year earlier, on an 1.8 percent increase in capacity.

In another industry measure reported Tuesday, FlightStats Inc., the Portland, Ore.-based real-time airline and airport performance tracking service, said US Airways’ on-time arrival percentage in January was 83.28 percent, ranking third behind first-place Delta Air Lines, at 87.18 percent, and second-place Southwest Airlines, at 84.85 percent. United Airlines was fourth among the majors, with 82.28 percent, and American Airlines finished last among the top five U.S. airlines, at 79.99 percent.

US Airways President Scott Kirby said the carrier has begun 2013 in notable fashion.

“Our January consolidated (mainline and Express) passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) increased approximately 3 percent versus the same period last year,” Kirby said. “I would like to thank our team of 32,000 employees for providing outstanding customer service and continuing our operational excellence. We concluded the month with a record January completion factor and load factor and look forward to delivering more records in the year ahead.”

In other measures of U.S. airlines’ performance in January, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines posted the lowest percentages of flights arriving excessively late — 45 minutes or more — and of canceled flights, FlightStats Inc. said.

For flights arriving excessively late, Southwest finished with the lowest percentage of excessively late flights, with 3.7 percent, followed by Delta, 4.67 percent; US Airways, 5.23 percent; United Airlines, 6.29 percent; and American Airlines, 7.4 percent.

Reporting the lowest percentage of canceled flights in January was Delta, 0.5 percent; followed by Southwest, 0.54 percent; United, 0.71 percent; US Airways, 0.74 percent; and American, 1.75 percent.

On-time performance

Top five U.S. airlines’ on-time arrival performance in January:

  1. Delta Air Lines: 87.18 percent
  2. Southwest Airlines: 84.85 percent
  3. US Airways: 83.28 percent
  4. United Airlines: 82.28 percent
  5. American Airlines: 79.99 percent

Source: FlightStats Inc., Portland, Ore.

(c)2013 Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.). Distributed by MCT Information Services. 

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Tags: earnings, us airways

Photo credit: US Airways passengers check in for their flights at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina April 20, 2012. Chris Keane / Reuters

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