Flights: Airlines Fudge Delay Stats by 66%

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All of those sad numbers you see these days about airlines' on-time arrival percentages and average delays actually don't even begin to describe how long travelers are waiting. In a front page New York Times piece yesterday, we find out airlines don't even count most of the time you waste after missing connections in their official numbers, from the extra hour it takes to get a new flight to an overnight wait in a hotel.
In fact, researchers at MIT did a study years ago (which they are updating this year) and found that the actual delay time is two-thirds greater than the airlines' specific statistics. Here are some reasons why:
Official statistics mark how long a flight has been delayed, but don't take into account people who miss connections and end up even more delayed or stuck overnight.

If a plane sits on the tarmac for hours and is then canceled, it's not counted as a delay.

Flights diverted to other airports or other cities are not counted in the delayed statistics.

So chin up, flight delays aren't as bad as they say! They're much worse!
[Photo : Blumology]
Ugly Airline Math: Planes Late, Fliers Even Later [NYT]
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