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Commercial Aviation: Impact of Airline Crew Scheduling on Delays and Cancellations of Commercial Flights

GAO-08-1041R Published: Sep 17, 2008. Publicly Released: Sep 17, 2008.
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Highlights

Media coverage of airline service problems, combined with congressional hearings on these problems, has put flight delays and cancellations in the spotlight. Department of Transportation (DOT) data show that flight delays and cancellations have generally increased over the last decade. Since 1998, the number of flight delays and cancellations has increased 62 percent nationwide, while the number of scheduled flight operations has increased about 38 percent. Also, a May 2008 report by the Joint Economic Committee found that, collectively, passengers were delayed 320 million hours in 2007. The report also estimated that domestic flight delays last year cost the U.S. economy as much as $41 billion and raised airlines' operating costs by $19 billion. In 2007, airlines reported to DOT that 73 percent of flights were on time, while 24 percent were delayed and 2 percent were canceled. Of those flights that were delayed, airlines reported the majority of flight delays were caused by 3 categories of delays: a previous aircraft arriving late; the national aviation system--a category of delays that encompasses a broad set of circumstances, such as congestion or bad weather; and air carrier--a category of 42 potential causes of delay that includes, but is not limited to, problems associated with how the airline schedules its flight crews. With demand pushing more flights into an already congested airspace, one delayed or canceled flight can create ripples in the system, causing other flights to be delayed or canceled. In such an environment, the effective scheduling of available flight crews is key to better ensuring the on-time performance of flights. Congress asked that we assess commercial airline policies and practices for crew scheduling. Accordingly, this report addresses the following questions: (1) How do airlines schedule flight crews? (2) To what extent, if any, does crew scheduling contribute to flight delays and cancellations? (3) What steps do stakeholders report might reduce delays and cancellations due to crew scheduling?

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Air traffic control systemsAir transportationAircraft pilotsAirline personnelAirline regulationAirlinesAviationCommercial aviationCost analysisCost controlData integrityFederal regulationsFlight crewsPolicy evaluationSchedule slippagesTransportation costsTransportation industryTransportation planningTransportation policiesTravelTravel costsWeatherCost awarenessCost estimatesPolicies and procedures