The airline industry's on-time performance got off to a sluggish start in January following a year that was the second worst on record, according to government data released Tuesday.

More than a quarter of the flights by the 20 largest U.S. carriers were delayed in January, according to the monthly data by the Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The 72.4% on-time arrival rate in January was worse than the 73.1% of a year ago but improved from 64.3% in December. A flight is considered delayed if it arrives late by 15 minutes or more.

Airlines reported that 44% of delays were caused by bad weather. The industry has said that an outdated air traffic control system is ill-equipped to handle weather-related delays and late-arriving aircraft.

But planes are also fuller than ever, as airlines increasingly switch to smaller aircraft to avoid flying empty seats. More aircraft in the sky and rising passenger demand have also contributed to the overworked air traffic system, analysts say.

With more delayed and canceled flights, the number of complaints the DOT received rose sharply, up 56% from a year ago, in January.

Other findings:

-- In January, the carriers canceled 2.9%  of their scheduled domestic flights, up from 2.5% a year ago.

-- The carriers reported 7.4 reports of mishandled baggage per 1,000 passengers in January, an improvement over January 2007’s rate of 8.2.

-- U.S Airways was the best performer among large carriers in January, with 79.5% of flights arriving on time. United was the worst, with 62.1%

-- Mesa Airlines, American Eagle and SkyWest had the highest cancellation rates in January, respectively.

-- Baltimore-Washington, Washington Reagan National and Tampa had the highest on-time rates, respectively. San Francisco had the most delays, followed by Chicago O'Hare and New York LaGuardia.

-- In data released last month, the department said 73.4% of the flights in 2007 arrived on time. The only other year on record with a lower rate was 2000, with 72.6%

-- Roger Yu

Skybus founder and John Weikle says he's pulling the plug on the idea for a West Virginia-based ultra-low-cost carrier that would have operated similarly to now-defunct Skybus. Weikle, a West Virginia native, had hoped to raise $3 million for his Skybus-like venture, which would have been based in Charleston, W. Va., and flown as Jet America. But, he was able to raise only $1.9 million -– leaving him just over $1 million short. For the investors who combined to put up the $1.9 million, Weikle says checks funding the money are already in the mail, according to the Charleston Daily Mail.

"The money issue, coupled with the Friday closing of Skybus Airlines, which was founded by Weikle, led Weikle to cancel the project," The Charleston Gazette writes. "The Skybus announcement has taken the wind out of our project," says Matt Ballard, president of the Charleston Area Alliance that was helping with the effort. The Daily Mail adds "plans for Jet America were moving ahead until Friday, when Skybus suddenly announced it would cease operations. Jet America and Skybus are not directly related except for the Weikle connection. But the failure of Skybus, which had been operating out of the airport at Columbus, Ohio, has stifled optimism that any new discount airline has much of a chance to take off given the current economic environment and high fuel costs."

"I can't tell you how disappointed ... that the Charleston Area Alliance is to see this project suspended." Ballard adds to the Charleston Daily Mail: "I think most if not all of the investors here in the local area still believe in John Weikle's ultra-low-cost carrier model. In fact, there were many private investors who despite the Skybus announcement have told me that they want to move forward."