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Spirit Airlines Now Delivers More Flights On Time Than American Or United

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This article is more than 6 years old.

The most recent reporting of airline on time performance data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) came with a big surprise: low cost carrier Spirit Airlines has turned into one of the most punctual carriers in the country.

As of November 2017, the most recent month in which on-time performance data is reported, Spirit Airlines is now delivering 89.75% of flights on time, only behind Delta Air Lines, which delivered 93.68%. Hawaiian, a carrier that typically performs the best (largely because of the excellent weather and lack of delays in its home airports), slipped to 89.31%.

In November of 2016 by contrast, Spirit was fifth in the nation, delivering 86.4% of flights on time. In November of 2015, the carrier was second to last in the nation with an on time percentage of 75.3%.

Spirit's turnaround is largely a product of new leadership and a focus on better performance. In 2016, Bob Fornaro took over as CEO of the carrier from Ben Baldanza, an economist who largely prioritized ultra-low-cost fares, ancillary fees and lewd marketing over on-time performance and the general passenger experience.

Thanks to Mr. Fornaro's efforts, Spirit is now delivering more flights on time than several of its rival, legacy carriers. In November, American and United delivered 88.8% and 88.6% of flights on time respectively, taking fourth and fifth place across the country. According to BTS data, only Virgin America delivered fewer than 80% of flights on time in November. At the time, that carrier was fully in the midst of merging with Alaska Airlines.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Interestingly, the volume of complaints against Spirit Airlines is also dropping relative to American and Delta. In November of 2015, the Department of Transportation recorded 160 complaints against Spirit versus 314 and 185 on American and United respectively (noting that Spirit's marketshare is over five time smaller than Americans). For the same month in 2017, Spirit only had 62 complaints while American and United had 161 and 104.

Operationally, Spirit now seems to be better poised to compete on the main stage with its legacy rivals. Whether it decides to keep its ultra-low-cost-carrier tack and lewd marketing may be the next questions.