And 69% is more than 73%.

Posted by: Morris Cox on March 13, 2003 12:08 AM

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There you go assuming Newtonian physics again. Idiot.

Posted by: Steve Applegate on March 13, 2003 02:21 AM

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Actually, the graphic is perfectly correct. USAirways Shuttle has more on-time arrivals than their competitors - around 2,300 as opposed to Delta's 2,000. That's what the chart is showing us.

They then confuse the issue by showing the % of their total flights which this on-time figure accounts for. They're trying to show two different indices on the same chart (and failing miserably).

Posted by: Alan Fisher on March 13, 2003 04:04 AM

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Actually, the graphic is not perfectly correct. The bar graphs are both labeled 91%. If you're going to use that figure, the graphs need to be identical. If you want it Alan's way, the graphs need to be labeled precisely 2,000 and 2,300. The infographic is utterly misleading.

Posted by: on March 13, 2003 10:51 AM

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Steve Applegate. You sound like a someone who uses insults instead of reasoning and logic. My comment was related to and based on the comment that "91% is greater than 91%". I made no comment about Newtonian physics at any time on this site. You might have been referring to the one that posted the "91% is greater than 91%" comment, but in either case, you disgraced yourself.

For those of you capable of holding a decent conversation, my roommate pointed out that the graph does not list the total number of arrivals, just the on-time ones.

I'll refrain from making comments about Microsoft, though I joked with my roommates about the .htm in the picture.

Posted by: Morris Cox on March 13, 2003 12:20 PM

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Morris Cox. You sound like someone who doesn't recognize a joke when he sees it. Are you related to that grumpy old orange cat?

Posted by: Mac Gates on March 13, 2003 12:39 PM

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Probably someone put the "91% ontime" verbiage on the bar because it would be easier to read there, rather than sticking it in small print under the name of the airline or something like that.

Maybe it's just me, but I didn't find this graph difficult to understand at all. First I saw what the bar corresponded to (number of on-time arrivals),then I read the percentage for each. I treated both as separate bits of information that were related.

Posted by: Lydia on March 13, 2003 03:33 PM

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Mac Gates, if that is humor, I want no part of it. Seems more like a bully. Saying something insulting, then claiming it was a joke. "We were just playing with him!" "We're just having fun!" "I was just teasing him." I am aware that there are good reasons why a person would not wish to use their real name. In this case, are you trying to potshot from the dark? If that is so, I have no more to say on this matter. And I am more like the Cheshire Cat. However, it irks me when someone likes to put down others.

Lydia, it was the same for me. It was just the first glance that was surprising.

Posted by: Morris Cox on March 13, 2003 09:24 PM

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OK, anonymous, I'll be a little more precise. The length of the bars on the chart is absolutely correct, since they indicate the absolute number of on-time flights which each service has. But they confused the issue by adding the percentage of their total flights which this absolute number accounts for. Instead of making them look good, it makes it look like they can't add up (at first glance). An excellent example of how not to present information.

Posted by: Alan Fisher on March 14, 2003 04:15 AM

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I think Alan is right. It's actually pretty funny. Should be a useful example for stats professors to use for some time to come in their undergrad courses.

My guess is this came straight out of the US Airways Marketing department who either 1) knew nothing about how to present statistical data graphically, or 2) figured people would only glance at the graphic, see the red 91% next to US Airways and the smaller bars for the competitors and be impressed.

Posted by: Tom on March 14, 2003 01:13 PM

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And the winner is ... US Airways. It's so simple! The stats have been arranged this way in order to give US Airways the longest graphical bar. That's marketing. Without that I think the normal way would have been to draw the graph with the percentage as the bar variable and the number of on-time arrivals as the additional information.
So naturally the measure of quality in such a case is the percentage of on-time arrivals, and not their quantity. Theoretically an airline with 3000 on-time arrivals, but only 50% timeliness would have been the number one in that chart. Would they be your first choice ;-)
(http://hoa.aavso.org/mathtalk.htm could be a nice lecture.)

Posted by: Gerald on March 14, 2003 08:09 PM

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