FAA: 2004 Lining Up As Year Of The Great Flight Delay

You can't say commercial flight in the post 9/11 era hasn't been challenging.

Now, airlines are not only dealing with record fuel prices, but delays that have garnered the attention of the FAA and Department of Transportation.

In fact, the FAA now says 2004 is on pace to become the worst-ever year for flight delays. Last week, executives from the major airlines were summoned to Chicago so they could hear Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta read them the riot act about the amount of traffic at O'Hare. That airport has seen more than 58,000 flight delays in the first six months of this year -- more than the totals from each of the past three years.

The FAA's goal is an 82-percent on-time departure rate system wide. Right now, that figure stands at an abysmal 73 percent.

Even non-hub airports like Sacramento International are feeling the pain. On time performance there is 75.6 percent, according to KCRA Television.

"We generally have clear weather in Sacramento and in California ... and we're slightly smaller than the major hubs, like Chicago and Atlanta ... they have some of the highest traffic in the country," Sacramento International Airport spokeswoman Karen Doron told the TV station.

FMI: www.faa.gov