Comair flight late 100 percent of the time

updated 5:59 p.m. ET Nov. 15, 2006

NEW YORK - Getting out of New York is never easy, but no one has been having a tougher time leaving the city’s gravitational pull lately than travelers on Comair.

Twenty-five of the nation’s 50 most frequently delayed flights in September were Comair planes to or from Kennedy Airport, according to a monthly U.S. Transportation Department report.

The absolute worst? Comair Flight 5283.

The evening rush hour jet from JFK to Washington Reagan National Airport landed late 100 percent of the time in September.

Planes flying the route arrived an average of 79 minutes behind schedule, on a trip that involves less than an hour of flying time. Three of the 30 scheduled flights were canceled altogether.

The delays are blamed on several factors, including chronic congestion at New York’s airports. And the Comair delays have only worsened as its parent, Delta Air Lines, has descended deeper into financial turmoil.

The delays made for a frustrating month for frequent fliers like Anthony Marcus, who was on three delayed Comair flights in September while traveling between New York and his home in Washington.

“They don’t give you information. That’s what really gets to you,” he said. “If they would just tell you why you were delayed, and how long it might be, you’d feel better.”

Comair spokeswoman Kate Marx said the airline is confident it can do better. Among other things, she said, Comair has added ground staff at the airports experiencing the worst problems and is planning schedule adjustments.

“We are certainly disappointed in these performance results and we are working to improve them,” she said.

Delays began worsening for Comair after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last September along with Delta. Since then it has been trimming costs and demanding concessions from pilots and flight attendants.

Marx blamed the airline’s performance on steadily worsening congestion in the Northeast, where Comair flies an ambitious schedule on some of the most heavily trafficked routes.

This year, New York’s three major airports are expected to handle a record 104 million passengers, up from 81.1 million in 2002, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

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