Fix flight delays or feds may step in, airlines told

U.S. airlines should cut their schedules to reduce record flight delays or face possible government action, the nation's top aviation regulator said.

Airline schedules are "out of line with reality," Federal Aviation Administration chief Marion Blakey said today in a speech to an industry group. And the government could step in if changes aren't made to cut delays, said Blakey.

Just 72 percent of flights arrived on time in the first seven months this year, the lowest rate since the government began keeping track in the current format in 1995.

In a wide-ranging speech to the Aero Club of Washington, D.C., Blakey said that "passengers will continue to be fed up with delays, and that's got to be taken more seriously by our airlines. No, you can't control Mother Nature, and our air traffic control system ... but airlines can control their own schedules. "

Blakey added: "To be clear, the airlines need to take a step back on the scheduling practices that are at times out of line with reality. Passengers are growing weary of schedules that aren't worth the electrons they're printed on. Airline schedules have got to stop being the fodder for late night monologues. And if the airlines don't address this voluntarily, don't be surprised when the government steps in."

Airlines are willing to discuss a "wide range of options ... including scheduling," James May, president of the Air Transport Association trade group, said after the speech. "There's a little something called antitrust law that doesn't permit us to sit down and come to some agreement in advance."

Material from Bloomberg News and Kristin Jackson of The Seattle Times travel staff was used in this report.