A study of on-time air travel from a Washington, D.C., public policy organization ranked Augusta as one of the worst in the nation.
But Augusta airport officials dispute the findings, citing incomplete data and its ranking based on arrivals, over which the destination airport has no control.
The Brookings Institution ranked Augusta as among the 10 worst metro areas in the nation for on-time airline arrivals -- only 74 percent of flights arrive on time. Among other cities in the Southeast, Atlanta, Columbia and Melbourne, Fla., rated worse.
Diane Johnston, the marketing director for Augusta Regional Airport, said Augusta is not responsible for a jet leaving late from Atlanta or Charlotte.
"Atlanta gets backed up because they've got traffic coming in from all over the world... If Atlanta starts getting behind, you can guarantee that we're going to be behind in our Atlanta flights," she said.
When rating on-time performance based on departures, Augusta has an 83.8 percent on-time performance, considering the average of the 12 months leading up to June 2009, which was the range of the Brookings Institution study.
Ms. Johnston said Brookings used data from only one of the airlines that lands in Augusta -- Atlantic Southeast Airlines, which is a regional carrier for Delta.
"The federal government gets reports from the 20 largest airlines in the country," she said. The airline companies that operate US Airways' regional flights are too small to report. So US Airways data for Augusta is not reported to the federal government, and therefore not available to Brookings, Ms. Johnston explained.
The FAA doesn't consider a flight late until it is 15 minutes late in landing or departing.
The Brookings report is a first-of-its-kind analysis of air travel among metro areas -- as opposed to individual airports -- that charts where and how often people are flying and whether flights take off and land on time.
The best on-time performance was Salt Lake City, at 86 percent. The worst was New York City at 66.3 percent on-time arrivals.
Reach Tim Rausch at (706) 823-3352 or timothy.rausch@augustachronicle.com.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2010 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Dispute all you want and keep WASTING money on advertising the same old crap. The airport looks great and it should since we have dumped millions in tax payer dollars into it along with running it. We have 2 basic airlines of which they cancel many flights to/from Atlanta or Charlotte and if they aren't cancelled, they are late. It is just as easy to drive to Charlotte or Altanta and you have a much better chance of actually making your connection vs. sitting in Augusta waiting to leave or sitting in Atlanta or Charlotte as they cancel flights coming home due to "weather or maintenance" because the flight will loose money due to lack of passengers. The Columbia Airport is excellent and offers many more choices at less than an hour drive. It would be nice to have a good airport but in reality with 2 major hubs 2.5 hours away, it will never happen and in reality, it probably shouldn't as it really isn't needed from a value or revenue stand point. The drive to Columbia, Charlotte or Atlanta is far better than the drive to the Augusta airport for the flight to nowhere. And, when you compare the costs vs. the other airports, they are ALL generally less expensive.
We have had to make a few trips to Europe in the past couple of years due to family emergencies.. Rather than risk missing the international flights from Atlanta due to cancellations from Augusta, we opted to take the shuttle van to Atlanta. I would highly recommend the service, the $120 r/t is money well spent to avoid the driving/parking hassles. On one occaision, the international flight was late into Atlanta, the shuttle company worked to get my wife on the next shuttle. I've flown out of Augusta a couple of hundred times on the govt's dime, but I wouldn't spend my own money to risk not getting there.
Just give a study of ASA (America's Sorriest Airlines) arrivals and yo will see why Augusta rans so low. You never know if you will get a plane or a bus ouot of Atlanta or when the plane will leave (if at all). Been there too many times when I traveled on business.
Anyone who frequently flies into or out of Augusta Regional knows the study is correct. My exprience was even worse so I now use Atlanta or Columbia when flying. Those who dispute the findings are probably not expierencing the Augusta Regional lottery.
I agree with all of the above. It is better to fly into Atlanta or Charlotte and drive to Augusta. Plus you don't have to smell that crappy air when you arrive.