New airline performance ranking can help road warriors, compliance

A happier biz traveler is often a more compliant biz traveler! This new ranking of airline performance can help.

If you’re looking to help your company’s road warriors have a smoother experience on the road, try telling them which airlines have the best chance of arriving on time.

Cirium’s 2021 On Time Performance Review ranks North American airlines on on-time performance.

Now departing … on time!

The top 5:

1. Delta Airlines (88.05% on-time arrival)
2. Alaska Airlines (83.46%)
3. American Airlines (81.79%)
4. United Airlines (79.54%), and
5. WestJet (77.31%).

As for which U.S. airports are most likely to get your road warriors up in the air on-time, they’ll want to be flying out of:

• Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport (MSP)
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
• Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
• Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), and
• Philadelphia International Airport (PHL).
  

Of course, this data was compiled before the massive cancellations and delays that plagued the last weeks of 2021.

Use this checklist

Another way for a smoother travel experience beyond airline performance? Making sure everyone understands your company’s current policies and procedures for biz travel.

Here’s a quick checklist, adapted from TripActions, with various factors you should consider before tons of travelers hit the road again:

• Decide which employees can travel and for what reasons.
• Determine which destination type (e.g., local, domestic, international) each employee/group can travel to.
• Outline any prebooking reqs (e.g., risk assessments, COVID-19 tests, waivers, approvals).
• Inform employees of any new pretrip approvals or booking reqs.
• Clarify if certain pretrip approvals are needed for vaccinated versus unvaccinated employees.
• Check if airline ticket rules have changed (e.g., updating or canceling flights, nonrefundable tickets).
• Spell out whether employees can add leisure time to biz trips (and if so, how expenses should be recorded).
• Decide whether you’ll provide or reimburse personal protective equipment (PPE), like face masks.
• Review which expenses are covered for things like PPE, quarantined stays and COVID-19 tests.
• Go over your meal per diems, keeping in mind hotel dining may be limited in certain places.
• Develop a post-trip survey to get feedback from employees about traveling in the new normal, covering all the key steps from booking to reimbursement.