TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2009-- US Airways (NYSE:LCC) officially became the nation’s number one on-time airline among the “Big Six” hub-and-spoke airlines for 2008 according to results released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. For the year, 80.1 percent of US Airways’ flights arrived within 15 minutes of their published arrival time—the metric by which airlines’ on-time performance is measured by the DOT.

“The first place ranking amongst the Big Six for the year is a direct reflection of the hard work and determination of our 34,000 employees,” said US Airways Chairman and CEO, Doug Parker. “While 2008 was a very challenging year for the airline industry, our employees pulled together to deliver an amazing operational turnaround.”

Year over year, US Airways jumped from sixth to first in on-time performance among the six largest hub-and-spoke carriers (American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and United Air Lines), achieving a 16.5 percent improvement over 2007.

“We know that time is very important to our customers and today’s report validates the importance we place on running a reliable airline. Our customers can count on us to get them where they want to go on-time,” Parker said.

And for the month of December, despite severe winter storm conditions, US Airways ranked first in on-time performance among the ten largest carriers. In 2008, the airline ranked among the top three in on-time performance nine times and finished among the top three in bag handling once, resulting in $500 in bonuses for every employee for 2008’s performance.

About US Airways

US Airways was America’s number one on-time airline in 2008 among the “Big Six” hub-and-spoke airlines according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. US Airways, along with US Airways Shuttle and US Airways Express, operates more than 3,100 flights per day and serves 200 communities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. The airline employs nearly 34,000 aviation professionals worldwide and is a member of the Star Alliance network, which offers our customers more than 16,500 daily flights to 912 destinations in 159 countries worldwide. And for the tenth consecutive year, the airline received a Diamond Award for maintenance training excellence from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its Charlotte, North Carolina hub line maintenance facility. For more company information, visit usairways.com. (LCCG)

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Source: US Airways

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