I don’t see Flight Ops P-codes as being the root of the issue. They are advertised as a feedback mechanism that generally has no repercussions for pilot-induced delays. We input them, they fall on mostly deaf ears, and that’s the last we ever hear about it.

What IS an issue is the impact of delay coding on every other department. Gate agents come to work in fear of losing their jobs if they don’t get the door slammed shut at D-13. Their metrics have become increasingly stringent over the years, to the point that customer service is being impacted in a negative way. I routinely see agents treat passengers and employees like absolute garbage just to hit D-metrics. ACS management has lost sight of the bigger picture.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, United recognized this issue and the impact it was having on customer service back in 2021. They decided to eliminate delay coding altogether. The result has been negligible in terms of their on-time numbers, and positive in terms of customer service.