Less than 12% of Alaska Air flights arrived late between December 1, 2010 and November 30, 2011, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). So this reinforces the importance of checking the Alaska Air flight status when booking your flight or before heading to the airport.

US Airways had a total of 409,759 flights during this time period. BTS tracks the flight status of airlines in depth, so let’s take a look at the flight status of late arriving flights for Alaska Air more closely:

  • Total flights arriving late: 143,667
  • Average departure delay: 41.79 minutes
  • Average taxi-out time: 17.60 minutes
  • Average scheduled departure to take-off: 59.39 minutes
  • Average arrival delay: 50.92 minutes
  • Average airborne time: 160.55 minutes
  • Average taxi-in minutes: 5.63 minutes

Causes behind those Alaska Air flight status delays vary. Do you think weather has the biggest impact? Think again. BTS identifies the causes for delays at the destination as follows (average in minutes):

  • Carrier: 16.65 minutes
  • Weather: 1.62 minutes
  • National Aviation System: 13.99 minutes
  • Security: .18 minutes
  • Late aircraft arrival: 16.63 minutes

To be sure, most flights depart on time. In fact, the average departure delay of all flights during this time period was only 1.35 minutes. The other reason it’s important to check Alaska Air flight status is because cancelled flights are another reality. There were 952 flights cancelled during this time — about 0.66% of all flights.
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Want to know more about an Alaska Air flight status? This flight status search tool gives you the option of searching by flight, airport and route. Check the flight status of your departure airport and even your arrival city to determine if weather or other conditions may present a possible delay. Road warriors tend to also know which city their flight may have previously originated — a smart way to check if flight status issues will impact the departure time of their Alaska Air flight status.
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Before you book that next Alaska Air flight, this tool allows you an opportunity to check if a particular flight has a favorable on-time rating. Simply enter the departure and arrival airports, or enter a specific flight and its time of day.

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Are you looking for information about Alaska Air airport lounges? Check out our feature that highlights what you should know about airport lounges.