Pinnacle Airlines Corp. airline holding company for Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. and Colgan Air, Inc., announces that Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. has led the U.S. mainland carriers in on-time percentage for four out of the last five months and in July, led ALL the U.S. carriers in on-time arrivals. Recognized as a leading regional airline, Pinnacle continuously ranks in the top three for on-time arrivals and has been number one for 24 of the past 34 months. The most recent month statistics show Pinnacle with an on-time arrival percentage of 90.6%.
With these rankings in mind, Pinnacle flies into some of the more difficult regions (taking into account traffic and/or weather conditions)--the Northeast Corridor; Detroit, Michigan; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Atlanta, Georgia--and still maintains its excellent record. This consistency is a direct result of two major Pinnacle initiatives: to measure everything and to maintain an operational culture that provides the best tools for its team.
Though all airlines have rigid processes, Pinnacle differentiates itself by measuring 1,800 parts, on every airplane, minute by minute, on its 1,000+ daily flights. Using a variety of metrics, the airline is able to collect important data and pay close attention to detail, which guarantees that the Pinnacle team has a complete grasp of its time constraints and works successfully within them.
The airline has four major metrics that measure the most obvious activities: the timing of each Pinnacle flight, the number of flights completed, the number of complaints filed and the percentage of mishandled bags. However, Pinnacle also has 100+ smaller metrics that measure the minutia, but are the key to timeliness: how long a plane is on the ground, how long it takes for the luggage to reach the baggage carousel, the amount of time it takes for a plane to taxi, when the passenger door opens, when the cargo door shuts (to name a few). These smaller metrics track each of these actions. Data is reviewed daily and then used to plan the most accurate schedules.
As aforementioned, the measurements and data are just part of the reason for Pinnacle's success. "People make the airplanes fly, they don't fly themselves. As a result, we believe that it's the cultural difference that also leads to success," said Phil Trenary, Pinnacle president and CEO. "There always has to be a sense of ownership and there can never be an 'it's not my job' mentality. It's a team effort, and everyone on the Pinnacle team knows they must pitch in and take responsibility. That's why you will see pilots loading bags in a time crunch or mechanics marshalling a plane. All team members want their airline to be successful, and because of that, Pinnacle is a leader."
In addition to these controllable, internal factors, the Pinnacle team is well-trained at handling the external factors and working with them to ensure on-time arrivals. They consider the busy times or "push" times at each airport, runway layout, air traffic control and much, much more to individualize timing in each city. Additionally, each airport has different monthly and daily factors to take into account. Pinnacle excels by working with all of these circumstances to remain at the top of the on-time arrival list.
"With this attention to detail and team environment, coupled with our industry reputation for high fleet reliability and dispatch reliability, it's clear how Pinnacle has been able to stay on top since 2000," said Doug Shockey, Pinnacle COO.
About Pinnacle Airlines Corp.
Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL), an airline holding company, is the parent company of Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. and Colgan Air, Inc. Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. operates a fleet of 138 regional jets in the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, Mexico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands as Northwest Airlink and Delta Connection. Colgan Air, Inc. operates a fleet of 55 regional turboprops as Continental Connection, United Express and US Airways Express. Pinnacle Airlines Corp. operating units fly over 1,000 daily flights and transport 13 million passengers a year to 144 cities and towns in North America. Visit www.pncl.com for more information.
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