Back
To News/PR Index
|
|
USDOT:
Airline Consumer Complaints Up From Previous Year
|
Washington,
DC – November 2014 / Newsmaker Alert / Airline consumer complaints
filed with DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division during the first
nine months of this year were up 18.2 percent from the first nine months
of 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s
Air
Travel Consumer Report released Thursday (November 6).
From
January to September 2014, the Department received 12,350 consumer complaints,
up from the total of 10,444 filed during the first nine months of 2013.
In September, the Department received 1,157 complaints about airline service
from consumers, up 14.2 percent from the 1,013 complaints received in September
2013, but down 27.8 percent from the total of 1,602 filed in August 2014.
All
of the complaints received by DOT are reviewed to determine the extent
to which carriers are in compliance with federal aviation consumer protection
regulations. The Department also routinely has discussions with individual
carriers when it notices spikes or significant variations in complaint
types or complaint levels.
The
consumer report also includes data on tarmac delays, on-time performance,
cancellations, chronically delayed flights, and the causes of flight delays
filed with the Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by
the reporting carriers. In addition, the consumer report contains information
on airline bumping, mishandled baggage reports filed by consumers with
the carriers, and disability and discrimination complaints received by
DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division. The consumer report also includes
reports of incidents involving the loss, death, or injury of pets traveling
by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers.
Tarmac
Delays
In
September, airlines reported one tarmac delay of more than three hours
on a domestic flight and no tarmac delays of more than four hours on international
flights. The reported tarmac delay is under investigation by the Department.
On-Time
Performance
The
reporting carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 81.1 percent in September,
down from the 83.8 percent on-time rate in September 2013, but up from
the 77.7 percent mark in August 2014.
Cancellations
The
reporting carriers canceled 1.4 percent of their scheduled domestic flights
in September, up from both the 0.9 percent cancellation rate posted in
September 2013 and the 1.2 percent rate in August 2014.
Chronically
Delayed Flights
At
the end of September, there was one flight that was chronically delayed
– more than 30 minutes late more than 50 percent of the time – for three
consecutive months. There were an additional five regularly scheduled flights
that were chronically delayed for two consecutive months. There were no
chronically delayed flights for four consecutive months or more. A list
of flights that were chronically delayed for a single month is available
from BTS.
Causes
of Flight Delays
In
September, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that 5.98
percent of their flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared
to 6.14 percent in August; 6.07 percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared
to 7.97 percent in August; 4.82 percent by factors within the airline’s
control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared to 6.01 percent
in August; 0.39 percent by extreme weather, compared to 0.68 percent in
August; and 0.03 percent for security reasons, equal to 0.03 percent in
August.
Weather
is a factor in both the extreme-weather category and the aviation-system
category. This includes delays due to the re-routing of flights by DOT’s
Federal Aviation Administration in consultation with the carriers involved.
Weather is also a factor in delays attributed to late-arriving aircraft,
although airlines do not report specific causes in that category.
Data
collected by BTS also shows the percentage of late flights delayed by weather,
including those reported in either the category of extreme weather or included
in National Aviation System delays. In September, 28.19 percent of late
flights were delayed by weather, down from 35.73 in August and from 32.75
in September 2013.
Detailed
information on flight delays and their causes is available on the BTS site
at www.bts.gov.
Mishandled
Baggage
The
U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted
a mishandled baggage rate of 2.98 reports per 1,000 passengers in September,
up from September 2013’s rate of 2.71, but down from August 2014’s rate
of 3.69. For the first nine months of this year, the carriers posted a
mishandled baggage rate of 3.71 reports per 1,000 passengers, up from the
3.21 rate recorded during the first nine months of 2013.
Bumping
The
report also includes reports of involuntary denied boarding, or bumping,
for the third quarter and first nine months of this year from U.S. carriers
who also report flight delay information. These carriers posted a bumping
rate of 0.70 per 10,000 passengers for the quarter, equal to the 0.70 rate
for the third quarter of 2013. For the first nine months of this year,
the carriers had a bumping rate of 1.04 per 10,000 passengers, up from
the rate of 0.90 posted during the first nine months of 2013.
Incidents
Involving Pets
In
September, carriers reported no incidents involving the loss, death, or
injury of pets while traveling by air, down from both the two reports filed
in September 2013 and the 10 reports filed in August 2014.
Complaints
About Treatment of Disabled Passengers
The
report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in September
against airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities.
The Department received a total of 59 disability-related complaints in
September, up from the total of 53 complaints filed in September 2013,
but down from the 83 complaints received in August 2014. For the first
nine months of this year, the Department received 609 disability-related
complaints, up 14.3 percent from the total of 533 filed during the first
nine months of 2013.
Complaints
About Discrimination
In
September, the Department received six complaints alleging discrimination
by airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion,
national origin, or sex – up from the total of five recorded in September
2013, but down from the total of seven recorded in August 2014. For the
first nine months of this year, the Department received 52 complaints about
discrimination, down 10.3 percent from the total of 58 filed during the
first nine months of 2013.
Consumers
may file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection
Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey
Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590; by voice mail at 202-366-2220 or by TTY
at 202-366-0511; or on the web at www.dot.gov/airconsumer.
Consumers
who want on-time performance data for specific flights should call their
airline’s reservation number or their travel agent. This information is
available on the computerized reservation systems used by these agents.
The information is also available on the appropriate carrier’s website.
The
Air Travel Consumer Report can be found on DOT’s website at www.dot.gov/airconsumer/air-travel-consumer-reports.
Facts
Air
Travel Consumer Report / November 2014
Key
September 2014 On-Time Performance and Flight Cancellation Statistics
Based
on Data Filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics by the 14 Reporting
Carriers and Tarmac Data Filed by All Carriers
Overall
81.1
percent on-time arrivals
Highest
On-Time Arrival Rates
1.
Hawaiian Airlines – 90.8 percent
2.
Alaska Airlines – 87.2 percent
3.
JetBlue Airways – 86.1 percent
Lowest
On-Time Arrival Rates
1.
Envoy Air (Formerly American Eagle Airlines) – 73.2 percent
2.
ExpressJet Airlines – 74.4 percent
3.
Southwest Airlines – 80.1
Domestic
Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Three Hours
American
Airlines flight 1620 from Raleigh-Durham, N.C. to Chicago O’Hare, 9/5/14
– delayed on tarmac 189 minutes in Milwaukee, Wis. due to severe weather
at Chicago O’Hare
International
Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Four Hours
*There
were no international flights in September with tarmac delays exceeding
four hours.
Highest
Rates of Canceled Flights
1.
Envoy Air (Formerly American Eagle Airlines) – 5.0 percent
2.
ExpressJet Airlines – 3.1 percent
3.
SkyWest Airlines – 2.3 percent
Lowest
Rates of Canceled Flights
1.
Hawaiian Airlines – 0.1 percent
2.
Virgin America – 0.2 percent
3.
Delta Air Lines – 0.2 percent
Media
Contact:
Caitlin
Harvey
202-366-4570
Bureau
of Transportation Statistics |