Cancellations, Mishandled Bags, Consumer Complaints Rise Slightly in October But Still Below 2001 Levels

Contact DOT 109-02 Bill Mosley 202-366-5571

Monday, December 2, 2002 -- Flight delays, cancellations, reports of mishandled baggage and complaints about airline service all rose slightly in October compared to September's totals but, with the exception of flight delays, still represented improvements over October 2001 figures, according to the monthly Air Travel Consumer Report issued today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

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 84.2 percent on-time arrival record in October, not as good as either October 2001's 84.8 percent record or September's 88.0, which was the best mark since the department began collecting comparable data in 1995. United Airlines had the best on-time arrival rate in October at 88.0 percent, followed by US Airways at 87.9 and American Airlines at 87.5. Continental Airlines had the lowest percentage of on-time flights in October at 78.4 percent, with American Eagle Airlines ranked ninth at 79.6 and Alaska Airlines eighth at 80.2.

The monthly report contains a list of regularly scheduled flights that were late at least 80 percent of the time. For October, five flights made the list: Southwest Airlines flight 2452 from Chicago Midway to Kansas City, MO, late 90.91 percent of the time; American Eagle flight 4457 from New York LaGuardia to Raleigh-Durham, NC, late 86.96; Southwest flight 2452 from Detroit to Chicago Midway, late 86.36 percent; American Eagle flight 4449 from LaGuardia to Detroit, late 81.48 percent; and Delta Air Lines flight 175 from Atlanta to Dallas-Fort Worth, late 80.65 percent.

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 October, the carriers canceled 1.0 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, fewer than October 2001's 1.5 percent but slightly more than September's rate of 0.9. Alaska had the highest rate of canceled flights in October at 3.1 percent, followed by American Eagle at 2.3 and Southwest at 1.5. United had the lowest percentage of cancellations at 0.4 percent, followed by US Airways at 0.5 and American at 0.6.

Mishandled Baggage

In October, the 10 U.S. airlines required to file flight delay and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 3.09 reports per 1,000 passengers, much better than October 2001's 4.11 but slightly higher than September's all-time best mark of 3.04.

Complaints About Airline Service

The department received 518 complaints from consumers about airline service in October, 37 percent fewer than the 822 received in October 2001 but an increase of less than 1 percent over September's total of 514.

Complaints About Treatment of Passengers With Disabilities

The report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in October against specific airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The department received a total of 54 disability-related complaints in October, more than double the 25 recorded in October 2001 and 86.2 percent more than the 29 filed in September.

Complaints About Discrimination

Consumers registered five complaints in October alleging discrimination by airlines due to factors other than disability - such as race, religion, national origin or sex - 82.8 percent below the total of 29 filed in October 2001 and 58.3 percent fewer than the 12 complaints filed in September.

Consumers may file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, 400 7th 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.