We know now that in terms of airports, the likes of Heathrow in the UK are making our aviation industry look pretty appalling on the world stage, but how are the individual airlines getting on?
A recent survey carried out by the online time-keepers and consumer website www.flightontime.info has revealed that of all the low cost airlines in the UK, bmibaby come out as champions with an average delay time so far in 2008 of just over 10 minutes. Following them is Ryanair, then Flybe, then Monarch and then easyjet. In the scheduled airlines’ world, Eastern Airlines are top of the pops with an average delay so far in 2008 of only 6.6 mins, followed by Air Berlin and then BMI regional. In the world of chartered flights, MyTravel Airways win the gold medal and then Thomson Fly and then First Choice. Interestingly here Thomas Cook doesn’t make the top three.
The survey went further and looked at the best airlines for the most popular routes in the UK, one of them being the London to Edinburgh route. The overall best performer for this was easyjet. They were also the most punctual when it came to the Aberdeen route and came in second when it came to Glasgow.
The less-known Monarch Airlines will be pleased with the result and for coming above easyjet in a few of the results. In an age when all flights seem to be delayed in the UK, they would do well to use it as a major selling point.