Author Description

Since 1998, the number of flight delays and cancellations has increased 62% nationwide, while the number of scheduled flight operations has increased about 38%. Airlines reported that the majority of flight delays were caused by a previous aircraft arriving late; the national aviation system, affected by circumstances such as congestion or bad weather; and air carrier problems associated with how the airline schedules its flight crews. This report addresses the following questions: (1) How do airlines schedule flight crews? (2) To what extent, if any, does crew scheduling contribute to flight delays and cancellations? (3) What steps do stakeholders report might reduce delays and cancellations due to crew scheduling? Charts and tables.