As quickly as safety permits

In flight operations we may be able to measure the extra fuel carried and its cost, but not the diversion that was saved and the myriad of knock-on effects. The accommodation costs saved, the connecting passengers that met their flights or the satisfied passengers who may have taken their business elsewhere in the case of an unscheduled overnight at an unplanned port of call. Or the disruption to the maintenance schedule for that aircraft not making it to its home port. The list is seemingly endless.

Perhaps one of the most widely scrutinised statistics is on-time performance – or OTP. Somehow it has become a perceived benchmark of airline efficiency and a tool for comparison. Each month the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development’s Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) punches out its statistics and graphs showing how well the players did in the preceding weeks. However, as British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. ” The ability to depart and/or arrive on time is subject to so many variables that they wouldn’t fit in this magazine. Certainly, some aspects are directly attributable to airlines, such as their staffing levels being sufficient to meet demand in peak periods. However, there is so much more at play.

The runway configuration at any given airport can have an effect on both departing and inbound aircraft. Single runway operations slow the traffic flow and having pushed back on time, there is very little chance of an on-time arrival. Conversely, a departure may often not qualify as on-time, but the arrival can still make schedule. And isn’t that what passengers are primarily concerned with? Additionally, long taxi times for certain runways can cost up to 10 minutes more each sector compared to days when the wind is blowing in the opposite direction.

In BITRE’s most recent report Mount Isa recorded the highest rate of ontime arrivals. One would be interested in a comparison of traffic congestion and the need for instrument approaches when compared to other airports that fared less well. And the Sunshine Coast was attributed with a poor departure performance rate.

But airports such as the Sunshine Coast call for aircraft to spend a few minutes starting their engines on the bay before a departure time can be registered as they taxi away. If they pushed back and started engines subsequently, one could foresee that a few minutes would be to their credit every sector.

Having finally taxied, some airports are not equipped with parallel taxiways and require departing aircraft to wait before backtracking and taking their turn to depart. Tick, tock, there goes the clock. And this is just a tiny sample of the variables of cause and effect.

Even more importantly, OTP should always be a byproduct rather than a goal. Safety not schedule should always be the driving force. The dispatch of an aeroplane should always be done in a safe, measured and unrushed manner. A thorough review of the technical log and an adherence to standard operating procedures can take time, as can a change of aircraft for the crew.

When the planets align in all aspects and passengers from connecting flights arrive in a timely manner, OTP may occur. And this is good. However, the threat lies in making OTP a prime motivator for crews.

Time constraints and aviation have never been particularly compatible.

From student pilots upwards, the spectre of last light, or the rush to beat approaching weather have often not ended well. In commercial operations, allowing timeframes to exert any pressure upon procedures is fraught with risk. The temptation to skip forward a step, or completely miss an item in haste can be the direct result of flying with one eye on the clock.

And that isn’t necessarily laying any blame at the company’s door. Pilots can be driven people, intent on completing the task and sometimes place the pressure upon themselves. Regardless, from where the time pressure is coming, the pilot has the ability to say “stop”. And so often this can be the best course of action for everyone as making an error can open up a whole lot of time to look back and regret the rush.

So those who need to can gather their data and disseminate the statistics as they see fit. However, as with any statement, it must be viewed in context.

The cold hard numbers may indicate a trend and they may even highlight one of the knock-on effects that need addressing. On the surface they may have some worth to marketing departments and trace easy, if not misleading, lines to compare airlines and airports on one isolated aspect of their operation.

In the end, any aspect of aviation should only be executed as quickly as safety permits. The factors that can influence that timeframe are many and reach well beyond the flightdeck and the current position of the minute hand on the pilot’s watch. Having both a sense of the commercial schedule and the ability to keep it in its place is the task of aviation’s professionals at the coalface – the pilots, engineers, flight attendants, ground staff and air traffic controllers. To passengers that balance can sometimes result in painful outcomes. But the alternative is just not an option.