Talking about "speculation", is or isn't it true that "On-Time" Performance measured by the DOT is based on when the ACARS, or your "ON" time is sent to OPS when you land??

And doesn't have anything to do with the door/parking brake/engine/coffee maker is manipulated before pushback?

 

At NK they don't start on the clock/pay until the a/c is moved more then 20ft and more than .5mph but I'm thinking that the company uses the main cabin door for DOT reporting???

 

Some airplanes use the main cabin door and the parking brake release to trigger the ACARS.

 

Pretty sure on the "bus" you can set it up any way you want to or let me put it this way: I know that they can change your block time from door to movement or aircraft with just a "soft ware" change; much like many of the others acars features.

In a previous life it was what "we" said it was

If I'm not mistaken, southwest use to be this way????

 

On the 73 if any door is opened at the gate, time is taken and your off the clock! 1 engine running, people are grabbing their bags and the ground crew are looking for ground power switch. Did I mention we are off the clock. At least I have a job and I get air and water. Fli

 

IIRC, companies are required to report all 4 times to the DOT (Out, Off, On, In). DOT uses Out and In times for purposes of on-time statistics. (Otherwise every flight out of ORD would be "on-time" despite hour long hold times before or after the flight.

From the DOT standpoint they really don't care about the Out time as much as they do the In time. Any flight that block into the gate within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival time is considered "ontime". (Hence the term "ontime-fifteen" that you might hear from time to time).

The reason that the DOT tracks out times is to get an average "stage length" based on the scheduling of each company. For instance NWA might block MSP-ORD at 1:15, but United might choose to schedule the same flight at 1:45. The end result might be that because of the extra block time scheduled, UAL might have a better ontime rate on that same leg, so DOT wants to compare how each airline schedules their flights.

The fact of the matter is, that if every airline were to add 45 minutes of block to every leg, on time statistics would jump through the roof...