Worldwide Flight Delays Cost Airlines 25 Billion US-Dollars

April 27, 2015
The 2014 Airline Study compares the on-time performance on a global and regional level, examining almost 130 airlines worldwide, illustrating also the delay costs.
(Dreieich/Germany, ) After the great interest for their Airline Study 2013 the Frankfurt-based consulting company aviationexperts now published the Airline Study 2014. This year, the survey focuses on on-time performance, delay costs and emerging markets. Of special interest is the figure of 25 billion US-Dollars of costs that were incurred due to delays worldwide. Enhancing internal processes can help improve punctuality and thus reduce these costs. After 2013, the consulting company aviationexperts publishes for the second time their on-time performance study, examining almost 130 airlines worldwide. This year's focus was not only on the delay rate but also calculates the costs incurred due to delays. An astonishing amount of 25 billion US-Dollars comes together when the delays of all examined carriers worldwide in 2014 are added up. Many delays are caused by circumstances that are beyond the control of the airline, like severe weather conditions. But apart from these circumstances airlines can also contribute to improve their punctuality and thus save costs. This can be achieved by optimizing their operational processes like network planning, operations control, maintenance, ground operations and the like. "About a quarter of all delays recorded in the US were so-called Air Carrier Delays caused by internal processes such as maintenance, cabin cleaning, loading or refueling. At this point, processes can be improved, for example by using state-of-the-art hardware and software systems to respond better and faster to irregularities or to avoid them from the start. After all operational excellence is a key factor for leadership of an airline." says Benjamin Walther, CEO of aviationexperts. The 2014 Airline Study compares the on-time performance on a global and regional level, illustrating also the delay costs. In addition, it provides a detailed analysis of selected airlines, the major airline alliances, a comparison of low-cost and legacy carriers as well as a spotlight on emerging markets. The study can be obtained free-of-charge under: www.aviationexperts.aero (publications).Key facts - 126 airlines were examined - 77 % of all flights globally were on-time - average delay: 47 minutes - due to delays $25bn of costs were incurred