Flight Delays, Mishandled Bags, Consumer Complaints, Bumping Decrease, According to Latest DOT Report

Contact DOT 101-02 Bill Mosley 202-366-5571

Monday, November 4, 2002 -- Flight delays, cancellations and reports of mishandled baggage for the nation’s largest airlines decreased in September, and passengers filed fewer complaints about airline service during the same month, according to the monthly Air Travel Consumer Report issued today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

During September, the reporting carriers recorded their lowest rate of mishandled baggage since this data was first reported in September 1987, and posted their best on-time performance since the department began collecting comparable data in 1995.

The report also shows that the largest U.S. airlines continued to reduce their rates of involuntary denied boarding, or bumping, during the third quarter of this year.

Flight Delays

According to information filed with the department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the 10 largest U.S. carriers currently required to report on-time performance posted an 88.0 percent on-time arrival record in September, better than both August’s 82.6 percent and September 2001’s 81.5 percent and the best mark since the department began collecting comparable data in 1995. US Airways had the best on-time arrival rate in September at 90.9 percent, followed by United Airlines at 89.8 and American Airlines at 89.7. America West Airlines had the lowest percentage of on-time flights in September at 83.9, with Alaska Airlines ranked ninth at 85.1 and American Eagle Airlines eighth at 85.6.

The monthly report normally contains a list of regularly scheduled flights that were late at least 80 percent of the time. During September 2002, however, no flights were this frequently late and, as a result, the list is blank. The only previous report in which this table contained no flights was that for September 2001 for which, since the report contained on-time data only for Sept. 1-10, there were insufficient operations to generate this table. Similarly, the reporting carriers had no flights during September that were late 70 percent of the time or more.

The report contains a note reminding consumers that flight delays can be caused by a variety of factors. The data on which this report is based do not identify the causes, only the occurrence, of flight delays.

These official on-time data are distinct from the data compiled by DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which records delays while aircraft are under control of the air traffic control system (i.e., from actual gate pushback time to actual gate arrival time). FAA data cover delays caused by weather and aircraft volume, for example, but do not cover delays at the gate such as those caused by aircraft mechanical problems, crew unavailability or many weather conditions affecting flights before they depart. The FAA data are useful for managing the air traffic control system but are not designed to measure airline passenger delays.

Flight Cancellations

The consumer report also includes BTS data on the number of domestic flights canceled by the reporting carriers. In September, the carriers canceled 0.9 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, fewer than both August’s 1.1 percent and September 2001’s 2.1 percent. Alaska had the highest rate of canceled flights in September at 1.7 percent, followed by American Eagle at 1.4 and America West at 1.2. Continental Airlines had the lowest percentage of cancellations at 0.3 percent, followed by United, also at 0.3 but a small fraction of a percent behind Continental, and American Airlines at 0.6.

Mishandled Baggage

In September, the 10 U.S. airlines required to file flight delay and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 3.04 reports per 1,000 passengers, better than both August’s rate of 3.72 and September 2001’s 3.98. September’s rate was the best mark since reporting began, topping the previous record of 3.32 set in May 2002. For the first nine months of the year, the carriers compiled a mishandled baggage rate of 3.87, compared to their 4.66 rate for January-September 2001.

Complaints About Airline Service

The department received 514 complaints about airline service in September, a 30 percent decrease from the 735 complaints received in August and 50.6 percent fewer than the 1,040 complaints received in September 2001. For the first nine months of this year, the consumers filed 7,912 complaints with the department, 45.9 percent fewer than the 14,614 filed during January-September 2001.

Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers

The report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in September against specific airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The department received a total of 29 disability-related complaints in September, 32.6 percent fewer than the 43 filed in August and 12.1 percent fewer than September 2001’s total of 33. For the first nine months of this year, the department received 367 disability-related complaints, 18.4 percent fewer than the total of 450 filed during January-September 2001.

Complaints About Discrimination

Consumers registered 12 complaints in September alleging discrimination by airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin or sex – slightly fewer than both the 13 complaints filed in August and the 14 filed in September 2001. For the first nine months of this year, the department received 177 discrimination complaints against airlines, a 52.6 percent increase over the 116 received during January-September 2001.

Bumping

The 10 largest U.S. airlines posted a bumping rate of 0.50 involuntary denied boardings per 10,000 passengers during the third quarter of this year, down from both the rate of 0.65 for the second quarter and the 0.66 for the third quarter of 2001. For the first nine months of this year, the carriers posted a bumping rate of 0.64, down from the 0.77 rate for January-September 2001.

Consumers may file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, 400 7^th St., S.W., Room 4107, Washington, D.C. 20590, by e-mail at airconsumer@ost.dot.gov, by voice mail at (202) 366-2220 or by TTY at (202) 366-0511.

The department reminded consumers who want on-time performance data for specific flights to call their airline ticket offices or their travel agents. This information is available on the computerized reservation systems used by these agents. Detailed flight delay information is also available on the BTS site on the World Wide Web at http://www.bts.gov/ntda/oai/.

The Air Travel Consumer Report can be found on DOT’s World Wide Web site at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/ and is available in "pdf" and Microsoft Word format.