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Punctuality of UK Flights in January to March 2006

CAA Press Release 04/07/06

The punctuality of scheduled airlines improved slightly in the first
quarter of 2006 compared with the same period in 2005, according to figures
released today by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), while during the same
period the punctuality of charter airlines fell slightly. The average delay
was lower for both types of carrier.

Scheduled Flights

During January to March 2006 the overall on-time performance (defined as
early to 15 minutes late) of scheduled airlines at the ten UK airports
monitored increased by one percentage point, from 73 to 74 per cent. The
proportion of scheduled flights operating on time increased or remained the
same at all of the monitored airports apart from Gatwick, London City,
Manchester and Newcastle, where on-time performance fell. Edinburgh had the
largest on-time performance increase, a rise of six percentage points from
73 to 79 per cent.

The average delay in the first quarter across all the scheduled flights
monitored fell from 15 minutes in 2005 to 14 minutes in 2006. All monitored
airports either maintained or reduced levels of average delay, except
London City, which experienced an increase in average delay from 12 minutes
to 13 minutes.

Charter Flights

The proportion of on-time charter flights fell by one percentage point in
Quarter 1 of 2006 to 65 per cent from 66 per cent in Quarter 1 of 2005. On-
time charter performance did not increase at any of the monitored airports,
although performance was maintained at Stansted, Luton, Manchester,
Birmingham and Newcastle.

The average delay in the first quarter across all the charter flights
monitored fell to 27 minutes in 2006 from 28 minutes in 2005. Gatwick,
Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle all reduced levels of average delay.

However, average delay at Glasgow increased by 11 minutes, from 18 minutes
in 2005 to 29 minutes in 2006. This can almost entirely be attributed to
blizzards on 12 March that caused the airport to close for a few hours. If
12 and 13 March are omitted from the quarterly statistics, Glasgow?s
average delay is 18 minutes, the same as the average delay in the first
quarter of 2005.

The statistics are presented to show the scheduled and charter modes
separately since the characteristics of these modes are different. For
example, scheduled and charter flights tend to operate to different
destinations at different times of the day and week. Because of this, and
the exclusion of cancellations from the data, simplistic comparisons
between the two modes should be avoided.

Top Destinations

Among the top 75 scheduled and charter destinations, the scheduled routes
to Istanbul, Mumbai, Dubai, Toronto, New York (JFK), Madrid and New York
(Newark) had on-time performances of less than 65 per cent. Five of these
destinations, Istanbul, Mumbai, Toronto, New York (JFK) and Madrid,
together with Malaga, had the highest average delays of 20 minutes or more
for scheduled destinations.

There were two charter destinations among the top 75. Arrecife and Tenerife
both had on-time performances of 73 per cent and had average delays of 22
minutes and 16 minutes respectively.

Istanbul had both the lowest on-time performance and the longest average
delay amongst the top 75 scheduled and charter destinations, with an on-
time performance of 49 per cent and an average delay of 26 minutes.

For further media information contact the CAA Press Office on 020 7453
6030.

Notes to editors

1. The CAA statistics on punctuality of flights at Heathrow, Gatwick,
Birmingham, Luton, Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and
London City cover both arrivals and departures. Actual times of operation
are derived from air transport movements returns made to the CAA. These are
compared with the planned arrival and departure times supplied by Airport
Co-ordination Ltd for Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Stansted,
Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London City and Luton. Figures for Glasgow
Airport became available in July 1993, Newcastle and Edinburgh airports
from April 1996 and London City from April 1997.

2. The analyses are published monthly and annually by the CAA in summary or
in full: Annual Punctuality Statistics, Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester,
Glasgow, Birmingham, Luton, Stansted, Edinburgh, Newcastle and London City
- Summary Analysis 2005, price £15.00. Full Analysis 2005, price £85.00..
Monthly Summary Analyses are priced at £23.50 and the monthly Full Analysis
at £80. Annual subscriptions are available at £235 and £800 respectively.

3. The data is also available on 3.5 inch diskettes (Microsoft Excel) at £9
plus VAT for the monthly Summary Analysis and £38 plus VAT for the monthly
Full Analysis, with annual subscriptions available at £90 plus VAT and £380
plus VAT. Annual versions are priced at £15.00 for the Summary Analysis and
£57.00 for the Full Analysis. Please note that the Full Analysis is only
available on CD ROM (in either PDF or CSV format).

4. The publications are available from: the Civil Aviation Authority,
Aviation Data Unit, K4 G13, CAA House, 45-59 Kingsway, London WC2B 6TE,
telephone 020 7453 6245, or are available on the CAA Website:
www.caa.co.uk/statistics.

5. Tables are attached.

Quarterly Results

http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?categoryid=14&pagetype=90&pageid=6640

Top 75 Destinations

http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?categoryid=14&pagetype=90&pageid=6638

Historic Data

http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?categoryid=14&pagetype=90&pageid=6639

6. It should be noted that the statistics in this notice cover only those
flights which were operated; they do not cover those flights which were
cancelled. Delays can occur for a variety of reasons. Operating
circumstances, both within and without the airline?s control, also vary by
route and by type of service. These tables are not intended and should not
be treated as a direct comparison between scheduled and charter services.

7. The CAA is the UK's specialist aviation regulator. Its regulatory
activities range from making sure that the aviation industry meets the
highest technical and operational safety standards to preventing
holidaymakers from being stranded abroad or losing money because of tour
operator insolvency.

8. The information contained in this report has been compiled from various
sources and it is not possible for the CAA to check and verify whether it
is accurate and correct, nor does the CAA undertake to do so. Consequently
the CAA cannot accept any liability for any financial loss caused by any
person's reliance on it.

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