Weak on-time record of Canadian airports, airlines raises questions for summer travel

MONTREAL –

Canadian airports and airways logged numerous flight delays final month, elevating questions on their readiness for the summer season journey rush.

Big airports and carriers had a a lot weaker on-time report in March than comparable U.S. outfits — and their very own efficiency in 2019 — in keeping with figures from aviation knowledge agency OAG.

Toronto’s Pearson airport noticed 61.2 per cent of flights go away on time — inside quarter-hour of their scheduled departure — versus 73 per cent 4 years earlier. By comparability, New York’s JFK airport and Chicago’s O’Hare airport had on-time performances of about 73 per cent and 79 per cent, respectively — inside a pair proportion factors of O’Hare’s 2019 price, indicative of American airports’ faster earlier restoration.

Air Canada’s on-time arrival price was 57.3 per cent in March versus 69.6 per cent in March 2019, earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic upended the air journey {industry}. The newest quantity additionally contrasts to the 77-to-79 per cent vary for 3 of the most important U.S. carriers, although they typically face smoother climate situations.

WestJet and Porter Airlines managed to land about 63 per cent and 65 per cent of their flights on time in March, respectively, in contrast with 80 per cent and 82 per cent 4 years earlier.

The increased quantity of flight delays may bode poorly for travellers within the coming months and comes after chaotic journey seasons in the course of the summer season and winter holidays. The state of affairs displays systemic points throughout the Canadian aviation sector, mentioned former Air Canada chief working officer Duncan Dee

“What is shocking to me from these numbers is that all three major national Canadian airlines face very similar on-time performance challenges,” Dee mentioned.

“The only conclusion is either Canadian airlines are operationally challenged or that operating in Canada involves common structural issues which all three Canadian carriers face, which makes their on-time performance markedly poorer versus their U.S. peers,” he mentioned.

Severe staffing shortages and excessive employee attrition charges have been among the many components conspiring to snarl air journey because the sector started recovering from COVID-19-related journey restrictions in 2022. A scarcity of workers continues to plague positions together with floor handlers, air navigators and pilots.

Airlines and the 2 federal companies liable for airport safety screeners and border officers have informed The Canadian Press they’re adequately staffed to deal with the flood of spring travellers.

The March efficiency knowledge was not an exception. The proportion of on-time departures in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal in February was nicely under that of airports in Seattle, Chicago, New York City and Boston, in keeping with statistics from OAG.

And final month, the Montreal airport notched an on-time price of about 68 per cent versus 80 per cent in March 2019. Calgary, the nation’s fourth-biggest airport, registered a price of 72 per cent in comparison with 82 per cent 4 years earlier than.

Meanwhile, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport, which isn’t any stranger to tough climate and handles extra passengers yearly than each of these airports mixed, noticed 81 per cent of its flights depart on-time final month, simply three proportion factors under 2019.

Some consultants say the huge variance between airways’ efficiency in Canada reveals that the issue will be traced largely to particular person carriers, quite than reflecting an industry-wide ailment.

Sunwing Airlines and WestJet low cost subsidiary Swoop landed fewer than half of their planes on time — 44 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively — down from about 57 per cent for each in March 2019. Sunwing’s stats fall 21 proportion factors wanting WestJet’s (distinct from Swoop).

“On-time performance and customer service has really taken a back seat to growing the size of the airline ΓǪ and putting a schedule out there that’s very aggressive,” mentioned John Gradek, who teaches aviation administration at McGill University, referring to Air Canada. He famous that its annual report comprises “not a speck of information” about on-time journey.

“That doesn’t bode very well for the summer,” he mentioned.

Gradek additionally pointed to stress on U.S. airways from Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and the Federal Aviation Administration, each of which have known as on carriers to trim their schedules to keep away from mass delays and cancellations.

“If the airlines don’t do it, he’ll do it. So United Airlines, American Airlines, everybody has been cutting back tens of thousands of flights — not thousands, tens of thousands — for the summer to basically reflect the fact that the system isn’t ready. No such move in Canada,” Gradek mentioned.

“Everybody’s crossing their fingers and holding their breath.”

Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick mentioned the corporate is making a “concerted effort” to cut back delays.

He additionally highlighted funding variations between the U.S. and Canada.

“The U.S. government has announced US$40 billion in investments over the last few years in airport operating and infrastructure support, while the Canadian government continues to extract hundreds of millions in rent from Canadian airports. The industry has made the point repeatedly that to improve the travel experience for people, the government should be investing in all aspects of the air transport system,” he mentioned in an electronic mail.

Porter spokesman Brad Cicero mentioned the Toronto-based airline now has a particular working group that oversees efficiency.

“We expect this to be a short-term situation, partly related to introducing our new aircraft type, the E195-E2, into service as of February,” he mentioned of on-time efficiency.

Eric Forest, a spokesman for Aeroports de Montreal, mentioned delayed departures stem from components starting from late arrivals to groundcrew availability, climate, safety checkpoints and air site visitors management — all areas exterior airport authorities’ management.

Airlines are in the end liable for flight schedules — and any failure to stay as much as them — he mentioned.

This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed April 25, 2023.