US Airways Offers Performance Bonuses

US Airways is offering its employees $100 bonuses if flights leave on time and bags don't get lost this holiday season.

After a summer full of flight delays, the airline wants to meet specific performance goals in November and December: at least 60 percent of all flights must depart at the scheduled time or earlier, and mishandled bags must be limited to no more than seven bags per 1,000 bags.

If both goals are met, the company's roughly 36,000 employees will get $100. If one goal is met, employees will get $50.

US Airways spokesman Phil Gee said as of Sunday, both goals were being met with 60.9 percent of flights leaving on time and 6.15 mishandled bags per 1,000.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 78.2 percent of the flights by the nation's largest airlines arrived on time in October. The national rate of mishandled baggage was 5.36 reports per 1,000 passengers. Both figures were significantly better than October 2006.

For the year to date, the national average of flights departing on time was 79.1 percent, and for October 2007 alone, it was 81.67 percent.

For the 12 months ending with October 2007, 74 percent of US Airways flights arrived on-time. That was significantly lower than the previous year (81 percent). However, that period includes thousands of cancellations and delays last March resulting from a major ice storm in the Northeast. Also, the airline flies out of the Philadelphia airport, one of the worst in the nation for delays.