Does Delta Make Atlantic Southeast's Performance Suffer? We're About to Find Out

(MoneyWatch)  I was doing my usual monthly perusal through the DOT's air travel consumer report when a thought dawned on me. Atlantic Southeast (ASA) continues to run a terrible operation, yet they're basking in the glow of a recently signed deal to start flying for United (NASDAQ: UAUA). What did United see in this airline (besides the multi-million dollar investment)? I find myself wondering if ASA's poor performance is solely thanks to Delta (NYSE: DAL). Now we're about to find out.

The recently released November report highlights September performance. As usual, September was a good month for just about every airline. Summer storms start to calm down, the number of flights drops, and things are generally more pleasant. In fact, the industry reported a nice and high 86.2 percent on-time rate during the month. Everyone was above 80 percent except for . . . Atlantic Southeast. They were down at 72.2 percent.

Atlanta, where ASA has the bulk of its operation, had a rough month in general. There were thunderstorms on 7 of the 30 days of the month, and that gave the airport a 74.6 percent on time performance across all carriers. ASA achieved 68.5 percent there. Delta did about 10 points better, but that's to be expected. Regional flights often get pushed to the back of the line when weather cuts the number of flights that can go, because they tend to impact fewer people. (At least, that's the rationale most legacy airlines use.)

But it wasn't just on-time performance that suffered. The airline was dead last in mishandled bags as well. They had 6.12 reports per thousand passengers in November, bringing their year-to-date total to 8.01. The industry average is less than half that.

When it comes to complaints, they actually aren't that bad. How is that possible? Well, this may very well be a Delta issue. Mainline carriers decide which flights to cancel and delay when airport capacity is reduced, and as I said, the regionals get hit the hardest. Also, Delta took over ground handling for ASA in Atlanta a couple years ago with the plan to improve their numbers. They're still ugly, but it may not be ASA's fault.

This very well could be a Delta issue, but we honestly don't know because ASA doesn't fly for anyone else . . . until now. Once service with United begins, we'll be able to see who is the source of all these problems at ASA.