Icelandair reports improved punctuality and baggage delivery

The Association of European Airlines has released data on the baggage-delivery and punctuality performance of its members for Winter 2008/9 (November-March). 28 AEA member airlines contributed punctuality data, and 26 baggage data, to the data collection which is unique in the aviation sector as a voluntary consumer-information exercise.

In all three key areas of measurement – long and short haul punctuality and overall baggage delivery, Icelandair’s figures show significant improvement over the same period in 2007/8.

The number of missing bags, i.e. not available for collection on arrival, was 13.0 per 1000 passengers, compared to 15.5 for the previous winter. AEA points out that, on average, 85% of delayed bags are delivered to the customer within 48 hours.

A similarly improving trend in punctuality was also noted. On short-haul operations, 83.2% of flights departed within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 79.6% a year earlier. On long haul services the figure was 70.6%, up from 66.7%. As is usual, the number of flights cancelled was extremely low: 1.9% for short haul and 0.7% for long haul.

The improvements are clearly influenced by the business climate: during these five months the airlines covered by the Consumer Report carried 6% fewer passengers and operated 9% fewer flights.

The report is based upon a voluntary commitment by the members of the Association to provide consumer information according to a set of commonly defined standards.