Cheaper third runway and now this!
Airport lifts on-time rankings
Geoffrey Thomas Aviation Editor, The West Australian November 22, 2013, 6:23 am
Perth Airport leapt to the top of the on-time performance rankings for Australia's capital city airports in October, as Tiger Airways and Jetstar struggled.
In a remarkable turnaround, the airport's on-time arrival efficiency has jumped from one of the worst capital city airports in August to the best, with 82 per cent of flights arriving on time.
Departures were also the best, at 86.3 per cent on time.
Tiger and Jetstar's performance was well below the average, with only 53.5 per cent and 55.2 per cent of flights respectively leaving on time. The two airlines' arrival performances in Perth were slightly better.
The data compiled by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics covers domestic routes with an average of 8000 or more passengers a month over the previous six months and where two or more airlines operated in competition.
It does not cover fly-in, fly-out routes.
The data showed Qantas and QantasLink had the best on-time performance in the country and to and from Perth.
More than 90 per cent of Qantas flights and 93 per cent of QantasLink flights left on time. Although 89.8 per cent of Virgin Australia's flights left on time, only 70 per cent arrived on time.
Perth Airport dominated the best performing routes, with seven of the top 10 for departures and arrivals involving Perth.
The performance is significant given the cross runway is closed for repairs. Also, from Tuesday to Thursday the airport is at or near capacity for 65 per cent of the time between 5am and 9pm.
In March, Perth introduced a schedule co-ordination system and the departure performance improved significantly.
Perth Airport chief executive Brad Geatches said he was pleased with the October report.
"We acknowledge improved weather in October contributed to these results along with the impact of the schedule co-ordination system, which has helped operational efficiency," he said.