Airlines fudge 'on-time' record

MUMBAI: It’s an open secret in the airline industry. Exaggerating the time it takes to operate a particular flight, especially those prone to chronic delays, is the commonest ruse to improve a carrier’s ontime performance record.

Till recently, when booking an air ticket, passengers found that flight duration for a given route varied from airline to airline. For instance, Mumbai-Delhi flights operated by different airlines within minutes of each other showed different journey times or what’s called “block time” in airline parlance.

One airline listed a block time of one hour fifty-five minutes, another listed it as a two-and-a-halfhour flight and a third put it at two hours and 15 minutes.

No wonder then, passengers of certain airlines found they often reach their destination well ahead of scheduled arrival time. After all, adding a margin of 20-30 minutes to the actual time it takes to operate a given flight ensures the airline has a spotless on-time record even if departure is delayed.

All of that changed in the last week of October as the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation decided to standardize flight timing for each route.

FOOLPROOF FLIGHT

Flight duration for any given route varied from airline to airline by as much as 33%. Margin of 20-30 min added to actual ‘block’ time ensures 100% punctuality as a flight is deemed to be on time even if late by up to 15 minutes.

Although DGCA recently standardized flight timings for each route, some sectors show variable timings. So flyers may find that they land ahead of scheduled arrival.