This repository contains a project for analyzing and visualizing flight delays in the US for the year 2015. The project includes data on flight delays, cancellations, and various factors affecting airline performance.
the Department of Transport has hired you and your consultancy team to present key performance indicators (KPIs) from airline performance data. The Department tracks the on-time performance of domestic flights operated by large air carriers. Despite having access to a vast array of data, the Department's management has had difficulty interpreting which data is critical for ongoing and future success.
- Identify 5 – 7 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the Department of Transport.
- Create a single dashboard of information for management review.
- Visually display the KPIs and justify each KPI’s selection and design.
- Present trends, analysis, and patterns.
The data used in this project includes:
airports.csv: Information about the airports.airlines.csv: Information about the airlines.flights.csv: Detailed flight data (not included due to size).
The dashboard created for this project provides a comprehensive overview of flight delays, cancellations, and their reasons. (Tableau public dashboard viz link Airlines Analysis Performance Dashboard). Below is a screenshot of the dashboard:
Recognising that not all data points are equally significant, we have meticulously identified and evaluated KPIs that capture the essence of airline performance. These KPIs are carefully chosen to align with the Department's objectives, offering a holistic perspective on on-time performance, delays, and cancellations.
It is important for an airline company to understand what regions have the highest frequency of delayed flights. These regions can be broken up into individual states and the airports located within them. This data provides airlines with a broad identification of the regions in which they can improve. Reducing the frequency of delays will help to reduce costs and boost customer satisfaction.
Another KPI for airline companies to consider is the most common causes of flight cancellation. Flight cancellations have a significant cost effect on airlines including compensation, accommodation and rebooking fees. Cancelled flights, more so than delays, can damage the reputation of an airline as customers value reliability from their provider. Understanding the main causes of cancellations can educate employees to address these problems or develop systems to streamline procedures and reduce cancellations.
The third KPI identified is to understand how the trend of delays changes throughout the year. This information should show how the number of delays, and the reasons for the delay change throughout the year. It should also demonstrate the cumulative effect of these delays concerning time. This can allow airline companies to identify periods throughout the year where delays are most common. Reducing the number of flight delays during these periods when delays are common can allow them to achieve their organisational objectives by improving their operational efficiency.
By utilising the flight cancellations a better understanding of how operational efficiency can be increased as it showcases the airline's operational inefficiencies, such inefficiencies might be relevant to either physical features on the plane malfunctioning or technical systems requiring updates. Using the frequency of cancellations by the airline, suggestions can be made for potential resource allocations to the desired areas, thus an airline that is engulfed with cancellations may benefit from a risk management strategy.
From the dashboard constructed the cancelled flights by airlines section highlights the largest quantity of flights cancelled was from Southwest Airlines followed by Atlantic Southeast Airlines. The data also presents the top three reasons why flights were cancelled with the largest number of flights being cancelled due to weather conditions. The map on the dashboard also highlights the regions for which the weather conditions were at their highest.
The fifth major key performance indicator (KPI) that emerged from the dashboard highlighted the major reasons for flight cancellations based on different airports. The results as shown in the dashboard revealed that bad weather was the major reason for cancellation across all airports, including Chicago O'Hare International, Dallas/Fort Worth International, Newark Liberty International, etc. The second major reason for cancellation across all airports was Airline/Carrier services, while the national air system was the third major reason for cancellations across all airports.
We have confirmed through the dashboard that flight delays are predominantly attributed to issues with the aircraft, followed by factors within the control of the airline, and subsequently, challenges within the air traffic management system. Furthermore, adverse weather conditions have emerged as a significant contributor to overall delays. Late aircraft delays and airline delays may result from various factors, such as the late arrival of the incoming aircraft scheduled for the flight. Delays stemming from the aircraft's preceding flights can trigger a domino effect, causing subsequent flights to be delayed. Other challenges contributing to these delays include maintenance issues and crew scheduling difficulties. Additionally, we observe that delays are influenced by air system issues, which may arise due to congestion or restrictions in airspace managed by Air Traffic Control (ATC). External factors like adverse weather conditions also play a notable role in contributing to delays.
In addition to data interpretation, below are the following strategic recommendations we would suggest against each of the KPIs
-
The airline companies should investigate the map highlighting the number of delays by state and understand that these are the areas that need particular focus. From looking at the map, the states highlighted as having the highest frequency of delays are predictable. They are Texas, California, Illinois, New York and Florida. All of these states have large populations with large cities making them popular destinations for travel. Given the frequency of flights, these delays are expected, but the data does suggest that customer satisfaction could be improved by reducing delays from these states.
-
From looking at the graph, the most common cause of cancellation is weather-related issues. Unfortunately, the weather is out of the control of the airline. They can however prepare for poor weather by allocating resources to clear snow on runways or to predict poor weather and reschedule flights ahead of time. The second most frequent cause of cancellation is related to individual airlines and carriers. If specific airlines are having significantly more cancellations than others, they will need to address this immediately to maintain customer satisfaction and their reputation. Finally, there are issues related to the national air system. This is largely out of the control of airlines and needs to be addressed by the national body.
-
From looking at the dashboard, we can see that all types of delays follow a relatively consistent trend throughout the year. There is no period where one cause of delays rises or falls significantly in comparison to the others. We do see that weather delays almost stop during October and then steeply increase in November and December which is expected due to Winter weather conditions. This trend is consistent with the other causes of delay which may suggest some interconnectivity between the reasons for delays. The airlines could investigate their processes in October, when they show the fewest number of delays, and attempt to replicate these behaviours in the following months.
-
It would be recommended from the data identified in the dashboard that the airline companies invest in a meteorological system. This system will help airlines track and forecast adverse weather conditions that are impacting the airlines, thus improving rates of cancellations and subsequently inadvertently enhancing customer satisfaction. It is recommended that airlines should avail themselves of an improved communications service to prompt passengers of potential delays or cancellations due to such weather conditions.
-
Based on the above analysis through the dashboard, it is evident that Airlines across all airports need enhanced forecasting and communication systems to demonstrate effective anticipation and manage weather-related disruptions. In addition, it is recommended that airlines evaluate and improve their operational procedures, including focusing more on maintenance schedules, staff training, and resource allocation to reduce cancellations due to airline challenges. Finally, the airline should work closely with national air traffic services to analyze flight schedules and manage airspace more effectively, decreasing cancellations due to air system challenges.
-
It will be advisable that airlines introduce predictive maintenance practices to address potential issues before they result in delays, ensuring aircraft are in optimal condition for scheduled flights. Streamline ground operations to minimize turnaround times between flights, reducing the likelihood of delays caused by late aircraft arrivals. Utilize advanced scheduling algorithms and real-time data to optimize crew schedules, minimizing disruptions caused by crew-related issues. Foster collaboration with Air Traffic Control (ATC) to address airspace congestion and restrictions, exploring innovative solutions to enhance the efficiency of air traffic management. Invest in state-of-the-art weather forecasting systems to provide more accurate and timely information, allowing airlines to proactively adjust schedules in response to adverse weather conditions.