BUSINESS BRIEF

U.S. airlines improve on-time percentages

10/24/2013

Just one in every five flights was late in August the government says, an improvement from earlier in the summer.

The Department of Transportation reported Wednesday that 78.8 percent of flights arrived on time in August. That was significantly better than the on-time arrival rates of 73.1 percent in July and 71.9 percent in June.

Among the biggest U.S. airlines, Delta’s on-time performance improved to 85 percent from 74.6 percent in July. That was good enough for third overall behind Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines. American Airlines ranked fifth, with 81.3 percent arriving on time.