Airline
On-Time Performance Improves in April
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Contact |
DOT 77-08
Bill Mosley
202-366-4570 |
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Wednesday, June 4, 2008 - The largest
U.S. airlines’ rate of on-time flights this past April was higher than in both the
same month last year and March 2008, according to the Air Travel Consumer
Report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The rates of flight cancellations and
mishandled baggage also declined compared to the same periods, according to the
report.
According to information filed with
the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of DOT’s Research and
Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the 19 carriers reporting on-time
performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 77.7 percent in April, higher
than both April 2007’s 75.7 percent and March 2008’s 71.6 percent.
The monthly report also includes
data on the causes of flight delays and consumer service, disability and
discrimination complaints received by DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection
Division. This report also includes reports
required to be filed by U.S. carriers of incidents involving pets traveling by air.
Cancellations
The consumer report includes BTS data on the number of
domestic flights canceled by the reporting carriers. In April, the
carriers canceled 1.7 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, lower than
both the rates of 1.8 percent in April 2007 and 2.6 percent in March 2008.
Causes of Flight Delays
In April, the carriers filing on-time
performance data reported that 7.70 percent of their flights were delayed by
aviation system delays, compared to 8.56 percent in March; 6.51 percent by
late-arriving aircraft, compared to 8.87 percent in March; 5.63 percent by
factors within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared
to 7.11 percent in March; 0.55 percent by extreme weather, compared to 0.93
percent in March; and 0.04 percent for security reasons, compared to 0.07
percent in March. 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 April, 37.89 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, down
9.11 percent from April 2007, when 41.69 percent of late flights were delayed
by weather, and down 8.50 percent from March when 41.41 percent of late flights
were delayed by weather.
Detailed information on flight
delays and their causes is available on the BTS site on the World Wide Web at http://www.bts.gov.
Mishandled Baggage
The U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a
mishandled baggage rate of 4.99 reports per 1,000 passengers in April, an
improvement over both April 2007’s rate of 6.34 and March 2008’s 6.66 rate.
Incidents
Involving Pets
In April, carriers reported three incidents
involving pets while traveling by air, down from five incidents in March. All three incidents in April involved pet
deaths.
Complaints
About Airline Service
In April, the department received 1,113
complaints about airline service from consumers, down 10.8 percent from the 1,248
complaints filed in April 2007, but 9.9 percent more than the total of 1,013
received in March 2008.
Complaints About Treatment of Disabled
Passengers
The report also
contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in April against specific
airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 36
disability-related complaints in April, down 18.2 percent from the 44 filed in
April 2007 and 16.3 percent fewer than the 43 complaints received in March 2008.
Complaints
About Discrimination
In April,
the Department received eight complaints alleging discrimination by airlines
due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin
or sex – down from the 13 complaints received in April 2007 but more than the
total of six received in March 2008.
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 http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov.
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 Air Travel
Consumer Report can be found on DOT’s World Wide Web site at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov. It is available in “pdf” and Microsoft Word
format.
Air Travel Consumer Report April 2008
Key On-Time Performance and Flight Cancellation Statistics
Based on Data Filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics by the 19 Reporting Carriers
Overall
77.7 percent on-time arrivals
Highest On-Time
Arrival Rates
1. Hawaiian
Airlines – 90.5 percent
2. SkyWest
Airlines – 84.0 percent
3. Southwest
Airlines – 83.3 percent
Lowest On-Time
Arrival Rates
1. American
Airlines – 65.3 percent
2. United
Airlines – 72.8 percent
3. Mesa
Airlines – 73.2 percent
Most Frequently
Delayed Flights
1. American Airlines flight 1555 from Miami
to San Juan, PR – late 96.67
percent of the time
2. SkyWest Airlines flight 3678 from Salt
Lake City to Sun Valley,
ID – late 95.00 percent of the time
2. SkyWest Airlines flight 3732 from Sun
Valley, ID to Salt
Lake City – late 95.00 percent of the time
4. American Airlines flight 1212 from Seattle
to Dallas/Fort Worth – late 90.00 percent of the time
5. American Airlines flight 1147 from Dallas/Fort
Worth to Seattle– late 87.50
percent of the time
Highest Rates of
Canceled Flights
1. American
Airlines – 7.6 percent
2. Mesa
Airlines – 3.7 percent
3. American
Eagle Airlines – 2.4 percent
Lowest Rates of Canceled Flights
1. Frontier
Airlines – 0.1 percent
2. Continental
Airlines – 0.3 percent
3. Atlantic
Southeast Airlines – 0.5 percent
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