Airline On-Time Performance Improves in October
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DOT 172-08
Bill Mosley
202-366-4570 |
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Wednesday, December 10, 2008 - Flights operated
by the nation's largest airlines arrived on time at a higher rate this past October
than in either October of last year or in September 2008, according to the Air
Travel Consumer Report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT).
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 86.0 percent in October,
higher than both October 2007's 78.2 percent and September 2008's 84.9 percent.
The monthly report also includes,
for the first time, data on lengthy tarmac delays by the reporting
carriers. It also provides data on flight
cancellations and the causes of flight delays, as well as information on
reports of mishandled baggage filed with the carriers and consumer service,
disability and discrimination complaints received by DOT's Aviation Consumer
Protection Division. This report also includes reports of
incidents involving pets traveling by air, as required to be filed by
U.S. carriers.
Cancellations
The consumer report includes BTS data on the number of
domestic flights canceled by the reporting carriers. In October, the carriers
canceled 0.6 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, a lower rate than
both the 1.2 percent cancellation rate of October 2007 and the 1.8 percent
rate posted in September 2008.
Tarmac Delays
In October, the carriers filing on-time performance data
reported that 0.0001 percent of their scheduled flights had tarmac delays of
three hours or more.
Causes of Flight Delays
In October, the carriers filing
on-time performance data reported that 5.17 percent of their flights were
delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 5.10 percent in September; 3.93
percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 3.62 percent in September; 3.86
percent by factors within the airline's control, such as maintenance or crew
problems, compared to 4.02 percent in September; 0.26 percent by extreme
weather, compared to 0.40 percent in September; and 0.03 percent for security
reasons, compared to 0.02 percent in September. 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 October,
34.49 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, down 13.41 percent from
October 2007, when 39.83 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, and
down 6.96 percent from September when 37.07 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 3.55 reports per 1,000 passengers in October, an
improvement over both October 2007's rate of 5.37 and September 2008's 3.86
rate.
Incidents Involving
Pets
In October, carriers reported three incidents
involving pets while traveling by air, compared to zero incidents in September. October's incidents involved two deaths and
one injury.
Complaints
About Airline Service
In October, the Department received 627
complaints about airline service from consumers, down 42.3 percent from the 1,099
complaints filed in October 2007 and 8.3 percent fewer than the total of 684
received in September 2008.
Complaints About Treatment of Disabled
Passengers
The report also
contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in October against airlines
regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 40
disability-related complaints in October, 31.0 percent fewer than the 58 complaints
received in October 2007 and identical to the total of 40 filed in September
2008.
Complaints
About Discrimination
In October,
the Department received 10 complaints alleging discrimination by airlines due
to factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin or
sex – down from the 11 complaints recorded in October 2007 and identical to the
total of 10 filed in September 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 October 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
86.0 percent on-time arrivals
Highest On-Time
Arrival Rates
1. Pinnacle
Airlines – 90.7 percent
2. Northwest
Airlines – 90.0 percent
3. Hawaiian
Airlines – 89.9 percent
Lowest On-Time
Arrival Rates
1. Atlantic
Southeast Airlines – 80.3 percent
2. Mesa
Airlines – 80.5 percent
3. Continental
Airlines – 81.4 percent
Most Frequently
Delayed Flights
1. ExpressJet Airlines flight 2396 from Newark,
NJ to Detroit
– late 85.19 percent of the time
2. American Airlines flight 933 from New York
JFK to Miami – late 80.65 percent
of the time
3. SkyWest Airlines flight 5727 from Portland,
OR to North Bend,
OR – late 80.00 percent of the time
(There were only
three flights in October that were late 80 percent of the time or more)
Flights
with Longest Tarmac Delays
1. ExpressJet
Airlines flight 2356 from Birmingham, AL
to Houston, 10/15/08 – delayed on tarmac 308
minutes
2. Alaska
Airlines flight 75 from Seattle
to Juneau, AK,
10/23/08 – delayed on
tarmac 269 minutes
2. ExpressJet Airlines flight 2406 from Dallas
Love Field to Houston, 10/22/08 – delayed on tarmac 269 minutes
3. ExpressJet
Airlines flight 2497 from Houston
to Wichita, KS,
10/15/08 – delayed on
tarmac 256 minutes
4. ExpressJet
Airlines flight 2335 from Kansas City, MO
to Houston, 10/22/08 – delayed on tarmac
249 minutes
6. ExpressJet Airlines flight 2207 from Wichita,
KS to Houston,
10/15/08 – delayed on tarmac 244 minutes
Highest Rates of
Canceled Flights
1. Mesa
Airlines – 1.1 percent
2. American
Eagle Airlines – 0.8 percent
3. Alaska
Airlines – 0.8 percent
Lowest Rates of Canceled Flights
1. Northwest
Airlines – 0.2 percent
2. Frontier
Airlines – 0.2 percent
3. Continental
Airlines – 0.3 percent
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