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Airlines ‘pad’ flight schedules to avoid being late

Air travel is getting slower due to 'schedule padding'.

Air travel is getting slower due to 'schedule padding'. Photo: Getty

Scheduled flight times have become longer in the past decade, but actual flight times haven’t, according to a leading aviation expert.

According to Monash University Professor Greg Bamber, who has researched airline performance in Australia and overseas for more than 15 years, airlines are ‘padding’ their flight schedules to leave more wriggle room in case of delays. 

“If you look back on the same advertised routes in the past decade, some flights are now longer despite technological advancements in modern aircraft,” Professor Bamber told The New Daily.

He said airlines were adding the additional time to flight schedules for several reasons.

“Some aircraft are flying more slowly to use less fuel to reduce costs,” he said.

“Other things are also taken into account, such as air traffic congestion, weather and even baggage loading not getting done in time.”

Airlines were increasingly using this tactic to market themselves better and avoid paying compensation, Professor Bamber said.

“It’s a safety valve that protects airlines from having to compensate customers for late arrivals.”

Flight times are being extended to achieve on-time performance. Photo: Getty

Airline Intelligence Research managing director and former Qantas chief economist Dr Tony Webber said airlines could alter their schedule to reduce fuel burn.

“When oil prices went to $140, airlines began to fly slower to reduce their fuel usage,” Dr Webber said.

“Flight schedules are put into place 12 months in advance by airlines and they counter in factors, such as congestion at airports.”

In August, British consumer company Which? found some airline carriers were adding extra time to flight schedules, in some cases up to 30 minutes, to ensure they maintained punctuality, so they were less likely to be liable for compensating customers. 

Researchers examined average flight times for 125 routes operated by large airlines in 2009 and compared them with the previous year.

Flights from Heathrow to Bangkok, New York and Singapore were shown to be extended by 20 minutes, and a Virgin Atlantic flight from Heathrow to Newark Liberty airport revealed an average of 35 minutes longer.

 How domestic airlines performed

New data released by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics revealed Virgin Australia achieved the most on-time departures over the past financial year at 84.7 per cent, followed by Qantas at 82.8 per cent, Jetstar at 75.2 per cent and Tigerair Australia at 71.5 per cent.

Tigerair had the least on-time arrivals at 69.4 per cent, followed by Jetstar at 77.8 per cent, Qantas at 82.3 per cent, and Virgin Australia at 82.6 per cent.

The data also showed that cancellations in the past financial year were highest on the Sydney to Melbourne and Melbourne to Sydney routes at 4.1 per cent. 

This was followed by Canberra to Sydney at 4 per cent, the Sydney to Canberra route at 3.9 per cent, Port Hedland to Perth at 3.4 per cent and the Alice Springs to Darwin route at 3.1 per cent.

Virgin Australia Regional Airlines and Tigerair Australia achieved the highest percentage of cancellations at 2.6 per cent, followed by QantasLink at 2.3 per cent, Virgin Australia at 1.6 per cent, Qantas at 1.5 per cent and Jetstar and Regional Express at 1.3 per cent.

Dr Webber said airline cancellations in regional areas were due to a “massive” pilot shortage in regional sectors.

“There’s a shortage of pilots in those areas due to pilots choosing to fly with domestic and international carriers,” Dr Webber said.

“The overseas companies, particularly in China and the Middle East, will offer more money and it’s usually tax-free with carriers such as Etihad and Qatar.”

Dr Peter Bruce, airline operations expert at Swinburne University, said airline cancellations were likely to occur for several reasons. 

“Flights are cancelled due to extreme weather conditions, such as thunderstorms, maintenance issues, industrial reasons or even air service provisional reasons,” Dr Bruce told The New Daily.

“There tends to be fog problems in Sydney, Launceston and Canberra. That’s the biggest reason for delays in those areas.”

A Virgin Australia spokeswoman told The New Daily the airline needed to change scheduled services due to adverse weather, operational requirements or other factors outside of its control.

“We understand this can be frustrating for our guests and we work hard to ensure that any disruption is kept to a minimum,” the spokeswoman said. 

A Qantas spokesman said the airline was focused on safely delivering on-time schedules for customers. 

“When disruptions do occur, we offer a range of options and work to get them on their way as soon as possible,” the spokesman told The New Daily

“Poor weather, air traffic control and airport congestion slowing flights down remain the main causes of delays and cancellations for all airlines in Australia.”

Both airlines did not respond to The New Daily‘s questions on airlines ‘padding’ their flight schedules.

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