Continuing on the theme of bumps, Chicago O’Hare (ORD) might be a wise airport to connect in this summer if you are looking for a bump. It also might be the airport you want to avoid if you are concerned about getting to your destination on time.
Travelers at O’Hare International Airport face delays this summer that could be easily avoided if the airlines simply overcame their penchant for jamming too many flights into the most-congested hours, the Federal Aviation Administration has warned.
The FAA says the carriers have scheduled almost as many flights as the airport can handle in peak travel times on good-weather days, and added operations that far outstrip O’Hare’s capacity in stormy weather.
By tightly scheduling departures, the airlines are creating waves of delays that expand and can last all day, FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said. Much of the problem could be avoided if United Airlines and American Airlines simply spread out departures and arrivals during slower periods when there is plenty of excess capacity on runways and at gates, FAA officials said…
Why do airlines jam flights? It’s all about the green–and I don’t mean the environment.
The scheduling snarls occur at the top of the hour, when research shows flights make more money, aviation consultant Darryl Jenkins said. On Thursday, for example, American Airlines scheduled 27 flights and United scheduled 39 flights between 8 a.m. and 8:15 a.m., according to FlightStats.com. That’s seven more flights than the airport can handle under the best conditions…
Hopefully AA and UA will work together to solve this problem before the government intervenes.
Leave a Reply