what justifies padding? is there a standard (theoretical time used by all airlines) 15min between gate departure and takeoff? Is there a different interval between gate departure and takeoff based on departing city ... ORD 30min versus FLL 15min? Does NW "pad" their departure intervals more than UA at DTW? I thought "padding" was relative to the individual airline and departing/arriving city. FAA judges airlines based on "published" departure and arrival times. it sounds up to the airlines to keep their respective schedules the best they know how. hopefully someone can provide emperical data or company standards. kr -----Original Message----- From: David MR <damiross2@xxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Feb 12, 2004 1:43 AM To: AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: NYTimes.com Article: Memo Pad: On-Time Flights Are Up Sharply Have to disagree. If the schedule says the aircraft leaves the gate at 0805, I expect it to leave at 0805. If, because of light traffic, good tailwinds, or whatever, the aircraft arrives early then that's good. If the airline really had the passenger in mind when scheduling the flight, then it would not pad the time and the pax could arrive at the airport that much later. David R ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Mueller" <dmueller7@xxxxxxxxx> To: <AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2004 22:08 Subject: Re: [AIRLINE] NYTimes.com Article: Memo Pad: On-Time Flights Are Up Sharply > Mark Greenwood wrote: > > > I am sure the airlines do pad to improve their OTP stats. You lucked out > > and the padding wasn't necessary! > > I don't mind the padding. I'd rather be early than late, especially if > there's a connection involved. > > -- > David Mueller / MRY > dmueller7@xxxxxxxxx > http://www.quanterium.com