Flight delays up but we travel more

Domestic flights are arriving later, leaving later and being cancelled more often, new figures show.

But it hasn't stopped us buying tickets - we're lining up in greater numbers than ever.

The latest figures released by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics today show on-time performance was between 2 and 5 per cent worse in November last year than in November 2007.

Flights departed on time 78.5 per cent of the time, compared with 79.9 per cent in November 2007, while on-time arrivals fell to 75.9 per cent from 77.4 per cent. Cancellations increased to 2.1 per cent from 1.4 per cent.

The industry's long-term performance averages (85 per cent for departures and 83.7 per cent for arrivals) are little more than a memory for domestic travellers, who regularly spend more time in the departure lounge than on a plane.

But it hasn't driven them away from domestic travel.

There were 4.22 million passengers on domestic routes in November, a record for the month and an increase of 2.1 per cent on November 2007.

The total number of passengers carried in the year ending November 2008 reached 50.33 million, also a record figure and an increase of 7.2 per cent on the previous year.