PHOENIX — With increased numbers of travelers at airports all over the country, flying can be a hassle during the holidays. But for those leaving Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport — the nation’s 10th-busiest airport — there are several airlines that consistently get travelers in the air on time through the busy season.
In the past five years, U.S. Airways had the highest percentage of on-time departures from Sky Harbor during the holiday season, according to data from the U.S. Transportation Department’s Bureau of Travel Statistics. Over that period, 87.2 percent of the airline’s flights left Phoenix on time.
U.S. Airways finished a merger with American Airlines this year, however, and the two are officially operating together for the first time over these holidays. Their average together is 87 percent, only slightly lower than U.S. Airways performed on its own, but much higher than American’s 70.6 percent.
Next were Alaska Airlines with 86.4 percent of flights departing on time, SkyWest with 84 percent and Delta at 78.8 percent, according to averages from the bureau’s data.
At the bottom of the list is low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines, with flights leaving the gate on time in 58.8 percent of its flights from Sky Harbor. Southwest was second-lowest, with 61.8 percent.
The average for all flights from Sky Harbor over the past five years is 76.9 percent, according to an analysis of the data.
Flights are considered delayed if they leave the gate 15 or more minutes after the scheduled time.
The bureau considers the weeks between mid-December and the first few days of January to be the holiday travel season.
One of the best records
Even with the high number of travelers and the possibility of storms elsewhere in the country, Sky Harbor maintains an above-average record for getting flights into the air on time when compared to other busy airports across the country, according to BTS data.
Of the 10 busiest airports for airline passengers in the country, departure data from BTS show that Sky Harbor is ranked third over the last five years in on-time departures during the holiday season, with 76.9 percent of its airline flights leaving the gate on schedule. Only Douglas International in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International have a higher percentage of flights out on time, with 83.8 and 80.2 percent, respectively.
San Francisco International has the lowest number out of the group, with 65.4 percent of its airline flights leaving the gate on time. Las Vegas McCarran International is second-lowest with 69.2 percent.
There’s no way to control what happens at other airports, and sometimes delays are unavoidable, so check your flight status with your airline before going to the airport, advises Heather Lissner, a spokeswoman for Phoenix Aviation.
GATEWAY ALTERNATIVE
Even while traveling through airports much smaller than Sky Harbor, passengers need to give themselves plenty of time to get through security screening and to their gates, said Brian Sexton, the public information officer at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.
On average, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway sees a 25 percent increase in passengers over the holiday season, he said.
Passengers might believe they won’t need as much time to get to their flight as they would at a large airport, but Sexton said holiday travelers still need to plan to get to the airport at least two hours before their flight is scheduled to depart.
Gifts are another big consideration for holiday travelers. Sexton said the TSA allows for wrapped gifts to be screened, but prefers them to be unwrapped in case any further inspection requires the removal of any wrapping.
