Government releases “tarmac” delay data, suggests ExpressJet is anything but

The Transportation Department’s latest Air Travel Consumer Report (PDF) has an early holiday present, courtesy of Kate Hanni’s tireless lobbying: October’s so-called “tarmac” delays. Since we have nothing to compare them to, we don’t know if they’re good or bad. Unless you’re ExpressJet, maybe.

Let’s go to right to the numbers. XE is the airline code for ExpressJet, the regional carrier. This is a list of regularly scheduled flights with tarmac delays of four hours or more, by airline. AS is Alaska Airlines.

308 minutes on the tarmac? Paging Ms. Hanni!

Here’s the number and percentage of regularly scheduled flights with tarmac delays of three hours or more, by airline.
This is the government’s spin on the numbers:

The report shows that in October, only 0.0001 percent of scheduled flights by the 19 reporting airlines, a total of 50 flights, were delayed on the tarmac for three hours or more. A total of six flights out of 554,325 by the reporting carriers had tarmac delays of four hours or more. Three of the six flights were identified due to the new reporting requirements: one was later cancelled, one was diverted, and a third was reported because of an additional clarification in the reporting of multiple gate departures.

My take? I only have a problem with the use of the word “only.” I don’t think any of the ExpressJet passengers would have used that word in describing their ordeal.

Can’t wait for next month’s report.

Thanks for the numbers, Kate.