Ah, Mother Nature. She can foul the best-laid plans of mere mortals, which is exactly what happened this past Thanksgiving holiday. According to FlightStats (www.flightstats.com), 80 percent of the Thanksgiving flights Tuesday through Friday arrived at their destinations on time.
Then, the weekend approached. While Saturday’s on-time levels still nudged near 80 percent, FlightStats says a significant number of travelers who waited until the Sunday after Thanksgiving to fly paid the price. Heavy rain and snow in the upper Midwest and Northeast triggered domino-like delays throughout the county’s airspace. Fewer than 50 percent of flights got to the gate on time Sunday.
Who got where, and when, depended a lot on the airport used. FlightStats says that barely 35 percent of flights to Boston‘s Logan International (BOS) arrived on time on Tuesday. Perennially- delayed New York LaGuardia (LGA), not surprisingly, posted the second-worst scores: nearly 63 percent of “>New York flights were delayed Tuesday, according to FlightsStats.
Wednesday and Thursday the focus of late shifted west, where flights to San Francisco International (SFO) posted 66 percent and 62 percent on time, respectively.
Friday was wondrous. Across the nation, FlightStats says 90 percent of all Thanksgiving flights were on time.
Then, the wind picked up. It started at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International (ATL), where a mere 29 percent of Atlanta flights arrived on time Saturday. Sunday, the bottom dropped out – if you were unlucky enough to change planes in ATL and found yourself frustrated, you were far from alone. FlightStats says a miniscule 12 percent of Atlanta’s flights arrived on schedule.
The best performers during the weekend? Salt Lake City (SLC) led the list, with 91 percent punctuality. Oakland (OAK), Memphis (MEM), Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), and Detroit (DTW) all averaged better than 86 percent on time, according to FlightStats.
©Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler
