US: Summer flight delayed? Don’t assume it’s a storm

Consider all the reasons your summer flight could be delayed. First, the summer months are peak times for both vacations and thunderstorms. There’s also the chance that the temperatures will be so high, flights will be delayed or even canceled because the hotter, thinner air makes it more difficult for planes to get enough lift. And with more people taking to the skies in the summer, there are fewer empty seats on other flights to get travelers back on their way. “These tend to be a summer phenomenon, and that tends to be the busiest time,” said Dan McKone, a managing director and partner at L.E.K. Consulting. “When there’s a delay, there’s not a lot of slack in the system.” John Grant, a senior analyst at the aviation data provider OAG, agreed. “With more passengers,” he said, “when things start to fall apart, more people are inconvenienced.” Storms that move eastward from the Midwest, particularly between 3 and 7 p.m., tend to wreak the most havoc on flight schedules. “The issue is they move in lines, generally west to east, and they generally move right through the Ohio Valley, which is probably the routing of 40 percent of the east-west traffic in the U.S.,” said Robert W. Mann, an airline industry consultant. “As those lines of thunderstorms move, they basically block traffic,” he said. “They’re strong enough to go up to very high altitudes, sometimes up to 50,000 feet, and you’re not going to outfly that.” The hub-and-spoke systems used by the major air carriers can make the problem worse. Story has more details.<br/>