The airline got the year off to a great start by hitting its punctuality targets for January.

Network ready to go (RtG) performance was at 62 per cent at the end of the month, exactly at the new quarter one target. RtG performance measures the number of flights that are ready for departure at least three minutes before they are scheduled to leave.

This achievement is particularly impressive as this year’s target is four percentage points higher than this time last year.

The overall 2014 RtG year average target has remained at 58 per cent but it is now broken down into four quarters. The split is based on colleague feedback and reflects the challenges of summer where the external influences have a greater effect due to the fact Heathrow, Gatwick and European airspace are operating at or close to maximum capacity.

2014 targets
Quarter 1 – 62 per cent
Quarter 2 – 56 per cent
Quarter 3 – 54 per cent
Quarter 4 – 60 per cent

Unlike January 2013, there were no significant snow events in London, but colleagues in the UK and overseas have worked through extremely challenging weather conditions, including record UK rainfall, gales and heavy bouts of fog, the polar vortex and on-going severe winter weather in North America.

When the operation has been disrupted by weather and other factors such as the European air traffic control strikes, colleagues around the world have responded quickly and recovered well. Peter Lynam, head of network operations said: “Reaching the target is all down to the hard work of everyone involved working together to serve our customers, especially during some very challenging weather. The new year and a fresh target to strive for has given everyone a renewed focus and a real desire to get us off to a great start; long may it continue.”
Heathrow exceeded its target by one per cent, recording 53 per cent – the first time a monthly RtG target has been hit since March 2012. Gatwick also recovered well from the flooding experienced in late December and hit their target of 52 per cent. In the overseas regions, EuAfSAm exceeded target by eight per cent, recording 74 per cent, while NAmAsPac recovered well from the severe weather to miss their 64 per cent target by just four per cent.

Andy Lord, Director of Operations said, “Well done and a sincere thank you to everybody. We’re putting a real focus on continuing to improve our operation and delivering for our customers – and it’s paying off. The new initiatives we’ve been putting in place over recent months have given us a more robust operation that can respond to disruption. Everyone across the airline has a role to play, but those of us in the operation, from Combined Operations to IFCE and Cargo have a crucial role to ensure we continue to deliver improved on-time performance for our customers.
“The real challenge will be to make this great start count and continue it right throughout the year, despite what ever challenges are thrown at us.”