Nearly a third of all flights delayed in early 2007

During the first four months of 2007, almost half of all flights going through the three New York airports were delayed, according to a USA Today article that cites the latest Department of Transportation numbers. But it’s not just the Big Apple that’s punctually challenged. Across the country, only 72 percent of all domestic flights arrived on time. These represent the worst statistics since the government starting keeping track in 1995.

I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised, given the winter woes of US Airways and JetBlue. Even in April, though, when there was general improvement, US Airways still only managed to land 63 percent of its flights on time, the worst of all U.S. airlines.

Can anything be done to curb the problem? The airlines continue to drag their feet on any sort of passenger bill of rights, and the whole air travel infrastructure is woefully out-of-date. Unfortunately, without any real pressure from dissatisfied passengers, it’s hard to predict the situation getting better anytime soon.

But at least we’ll all have time to think of a solution while we’re waiting for our next delayed flight.