|
When traveling we have found that the early morning flights give you the best
odds of taking off and arriving on time.
As the day goes on the odds start stacking up against you. It sort of like
the domino effect.
Bad weather in your city or in another city will slow you
down no matter what time you leave.
For example, when we checked United Airlines eight nonstop flights between
Chicago O'Hare to Newark we found the first flight of the day had a better than
90% chance of taking off and arriving on time. The next seven flights all head
south with the 4:10 p.m. flight having a 36% chance to get you to Newark on
time. That means 64% of the time your leaving late or arriving late, probably
both.
Now the return trip was even worse from Newark back to Chicago. The early
morning flight at 6:00 a.m. had only a 76% on time performance. Again, 24% of
the time this plane is leaving or landing late. Most of the evening flights have
a 50/50 change of leaving on time. See the chart below.
So the next time you pick a cheap flight on Bestfares.com be sure to check
your average on time performance to stack the odds in your favor. Remember no
matter how you increase your odds Murphy's law can set in.
When I travel I go to the airport thinking my plane will be late, will I have
a mechanical delay, there won't be a gate for my plane even if I do land on time
making me late even if we land on time, and if I do check my luggage instead of
going to Tampa they may go to New York.
Now if all of those things do happen I am mentally ready for it. If none of
them happen boy, oh boy, did I have a great flight.
Please note that if there isn't any flight information listed for a particular
flight this may be due to a new flight route, a new flight number, or that this
is route has not been flown for more than a year so there is not enough data to
get an average on time report. The airlines are required to report their on time
performances after flying the route over 12 months so they have an accurate on
time average.
On our website you will see the airline in the first column, the departure
time in the next, arrival time in the next, total travel time in the next, and
the last column will show the roundtrip price including all taxes. It is the
fourth column you want to pay attention to, it will show total travel time and
if the flight is nonstop or connecting, and the flight # and the average on time
percentage.
| Airline |
Departure
Time |
Arrival Time |
Total
Travel Time |
Roundtrip
Price Including All Taxes and Fees |
| United Flight
634 |
6:01 am
Chicago, IL (ORD) |
9:06 am Newark,
NJ (EWR) |
2
hrs 5 Min- Nonstop Flight # 634 on time 90% |
$178 Per
Person Total $204 |
Email to a Friend
|