On time performance, frequency and schedule are among the key requirements for corporate travellers, so in Australia regular reports from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE), part of the Government's Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, are important reading for the industry.
BITRE monitors the punctuality and reliability of major domestic airlines operating between Australian airports with the purpose of allowing for evaluation of overall industry and individual airline performance, so that consumers of air travel can make informed decisions.
Its latest Jun-2019 statistical report made positive reading when compared to the same month last year. On time performance over all routes operated by participating airlines (Jetstar, Qantas, QantasLink, Regional Express, Tigerair Australia, Virgin Australia and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines) averaged 78.6% for on time arrivals and 80.8% for on time departures. Cancellations represented 1.7% of all scheduled flights. The equivalent figures for Jun-2018 were 76.5% for on time arrivals, 78.0% for on time departures and 1.9% for cancellations.
This month's on time arrivals figure was lower than the long term average performance for all routes (82.5% ) and the on time departures figure was also lower than the long term average (83.8%). While down on last year, the rate of cancellations was higher than the long term average of 1.5%.
Our QUESTION OF THE WEEK is…Flight reliability is key for corporate travellers, but what were Australia's ten most punctual domestic routes from the flight departure perspective in Jun-2019?
JOIN IN THE FUN: Send your answers to: The Blue Swan Daily Content Team
We will be revealing the answers at the same time next week, when we will be setting another question.
Last week we asked…Exports from international tourism hit USD1.7 trillion in 2018, but who were the world's ten biggest spenders?
The top two in this ranking were obvious, but the remaining eight and their order in the top ten were the main challenge. China was ranked #1 with a USD277.3 billion international tourism spend in 2018, up +5.2% on 2017, almost double that of the United States of America, ranked #2, with a USD144.2 billion spend, up +6.8% on 2017. The rest of the top ten were: #3 - Germany (USD94.2 billion, +1.2%); #4 - UK (USD75.8 billion, +3.4%); #5 - France (USD47.9 billion, +10.5%); #6 - Australia (USD36.8 billion, +9.7%); #7 - Russian Federation (USD34.5 billion, +11.2%); #8 - Canada (USD33.3 billion, +4.3%); #9 - South Korea (USD32.0 billion, +0.9%); #10 - Italy (USD30.1 billion, +3.8%).