=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2007/09/11/BU5NS2V6N.= DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, September 11, 2007 (SF Chronicle) More flights getting delayed in region and nation, fed report says Jonathan Curiel, Chronicle Staff Writer Nearly 1 in 3 flights arriving at San Francisco International Airport in July was late, part of a nationwide trend of deteriorating on-time performance for airlines, according to a new federal report. A total of 31.6 percent of arriving flights at SFO in July landed after their scheduled touch-down times, the U.S. Department of Transportation said. In July 2006, the total was 22 percent, the agency said. The number of late-arriving planes was also higher this July at Oakland International Airport and Mineta San Jose International Airport, according to the new report. At San Jose, 20 percent of planes were late, one percentage point higher than a year earlier. At Oakland, the total was 22 percent, three percentage points worse than in July 2006. Nationally, 27.7 percent of flights were late arriving in July, up from 24.2 percent in July 2006. On-time departures at all three Bay Area airports were also down in July from a year ago, according to the report. At San Francisco, 25.8 percent of takeoffs were late, nearly five percentage points worse than in July 2006. At Oakland the total was 22.2 percent, compared with 19.3 percent in July 2006, and at San Jose the total was 16.1 percent, less than half a percentage point worse than the year before. The national norm for departure delays was 24.8 percent in July, accordi= ng to the report, compared with 22.3 percent a year ago. Nationally, the number of on-time arrivals and departures has steadily worsened in the last six years, according to the Transportation Department. Aviation experts had predicted a difficult summer for airlines and passengers, saying that an increased numbers of travelers, decreased airline staff and an overextended air traffic control system would lead to more delays. Airlines said nearly 1 in 10 of their flights were tardy in July because the planes needed for the routes were already late. "Aviation system delays" resulted in 8.4 percent of flights running late, and issues such as maintenance or crew problems delayed 8 percent of all flights. Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said the federal government's air-traffic control system is especially to blame. He said the current radar system is obsolete compared with a satellite system that the FAA wants and is being funded - slowly - by taxes on airline tickets. "The FAA is using a system that's extremely safe, but not particularly efficient," Gregor said. Gregor said, "Radar gives you a good idea of where an aircraft is, but n= ot a precise idea. As a result, we build rather large 'safety bubbles' around each airplane. We require that aircraft at high altitudes be separate by at least 5 miles. With satellite, you're going to know exactly where aircraft are located, and that gives us the potential to reduce spacing." Among airlines, the worst for on-time performance nationwide in July was Atlantic Southeast Airlines, whose flights were late 54.2 percent of the time, the Transportation Department said. Delta's Comair had the highest rate of canceled flights (5.4 percent), while Frontier had the lowest (0.1 percent). Hawaiian Airlines had the best on-time performance for the month, with 94.7 percent of its flights arriving on schedule, the report said. Online resources To read the report links.sfgate.com/ZSY Flying late Late arrivals and departures at the Bay Area's airports in July: Arrivals Airport 20072006San Francisco31.6%22.0%Oakland22.019.1San Jose20.019.0 Departures Airport 20072006San Francisco25.8%21.1%Oakland22.219.3San Jose16.115.8 Source: U.S. Department of Transportation E-mail Jonathan Curiel at jcuriel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---------------------= ------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2007 SF Chronicle <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".