New "look what Delta has, and we don't" obsession unlocked.

I just pulled up ATL to DFW flight schedules for a random weekday this week. AA and DL both operate the route 8 times daily. AA’s average scheduled block is 2:36. DL’s is 2:33.

I would agree with you about our management at DL offering more talk than substance though.

You can't pull up one route on one day like this and think it tells you anything. That comparison means nothing for several reasons:

(1) Gate positions, taxi out times, route selection, etc. all have impacts on average block time.

(2) When talking about thousands of daily flights, a sample size of 8 is irrelevant, you have to look at a multitude of routes to get a complete picture.

(3) The comparison isn't "AA block time versus DL block time", it's *actual* expected block time versus *scheduled* block time for each airline. In the comparison you gave, let's say Delta's actual average block time for ATL-DFW is 2:25 and American's actual average block is 2:35 for that same route (due to the factors I listed in point 1). Delta has 2:33 scheduled (they've buffered the scheduled time by 8 minutes), while American has 2:36 scheduled (they've only buffered the scheduled time by 1 minute). Obviously Delta's on-time performance on paper will be superior, because they've built in more time beyond the actual expected duration. What you'll see starting in April is American using the same technique to improve their on-time performance.

Not trying to be a jerk here, but pulling up a single route comparison like that is literally a waste of time.

Do you have any data to support your claim that Delta consistently pads block times, relative to American?

I’m not saying that a sample size of 8 can prove otherwise, but it should be easy to support your claim if the issue is truly widespread.

Delta generally does the opposite - they have tighter block times but increased the time on the ground so that any moderate and under delays can be absorbed into the system. This still allows passengers to make connections and reduces crew costs due to lower block times.

Not sure about others but I hardly ever over-block here which means the company is overpaying on labor the vast majority of the time.

Atlanta is a ****hole poorly ran crime ridden city where nobody wants to live. Dallas on the other-hand is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. They can have Hotlanta lol.

But Delta had Atlanta based rapper Ludacris perform at their 100th anniversary bash. What Dallas based artist is AA going to hire for our 100th anniversary bash?

Kelly Clarkson and Post Malone of course!

And Lainey Wilson.

Willy Nelson
Is he still alive?