US: Delta tops in on-time flights, Spirit worst for complaints

Delta scored the best for on-time flights in the latest government rankings, and United and American weren't far behind. Virgin America had the highest rate of delayed flights, and discount carrier Spirit Airlines drew the highest rate of consumer complaints. The DoT released figures for March on Tuesday. The report covers the 12 largest US airlines. Through the first three months of the year, airlines bumped one in every 16,000 passengers off a flight — the same rate as in early 2016. More commonly, airlines find volunteers to give up their seats on overbooked flights — that happened to about one in every 1,500 passengers, slightly less often than in early 2016. JetBlue had the highest rate of bumping, which it says can occur when a smaller plane replaces a larger one. Delta had the lowest bumping rate and the highest number of volunteers who gave up their seats. United ranks in the middle of the pack for bumping passengers against their will. In March, 79.9% of flights on the 12 largest airlines arrived on time — that's within 14 minutes of schedule. That was down from the 81.5% rate in March 2016. Delta had an 86.9% on-time rate, followed by Hawaiian, United and American. Only 65.5% of Virgin America flights arrived on time.<br/>