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Airline On-Time Performance Improves In February
Thursday, April 9, 2009 - The nation’s largest airlines had a higher rate of on-time flights this past February than in either February of last year or in January 2009, 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 82.6 percent in February, an improvement over both February 2008’s 68.6 percent and January 2009’s 77.0 percent. The monthly report also includes data on lengthy tarmac delays, flight cancellations and the causes of flight delays by the reporting carriers, 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. CancellationsThe consumer report includes BTS data on the number of domestic flights canceled by the reporting carriers. In February, the carriers canceled 1.2 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, a lower rate than both the 3.6 percent cancellation rate of February 2008 and the 2.3 percent rate posted in January 2009. Tarmac DelaysIn February, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that .00009 percent of their scheduled flights had tarmac delays of three hours or more, down from .0002 percent in January. There were five flights with tarmac delays of four hours or more in February. Causes of Flight DelaysIn February, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that 6.58 percent of their flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 8.04 percent in January; 4.79 percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 6.29 percent in January; 4.17 percent by factors within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared to 5.09 percent in January; 0.43 percent by extreme weather, compared to 0.96 percent in January; and 0.02 percent for security reasons, compared to 0.04 percent in January. 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 show 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 February, 43.31 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, down 7.69 percent from February 2008, when 46.92 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, and down 0.69 percent from January when 43.61 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 BaggageThe U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 3.56 reports per 1,000 passengers in February, an improvement over both February 2008’s rate of 6.41 and January 2009’s 5.20 rate. Incidents Involving PetsIn February, carriers reported two incidents involving the loss, death or injury of pets while traveling by air, compared to one incident in February 2008 and no incidents in January 2009. February’s incidents involved one death and one lost pet. Complaints About Airline ServiceIn February, the Department received 576 complaints about airline service from consumers, down 38.5 percent from the 937 complaints filed in February 2008 and 34.8 percent fewer than the total of 884 complaints received in January 2009. Complaints About Treatment of Disabled PassengersThe report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in February against airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 33 disability-related complaints in February, fewer than both the 35 complaints received in February 2008 and the total of 42 received in January 2009. Complaints About DiscriminationIn February, the Department received three complaints alleging discrimination by airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin or sex – down from both the nine complaints received in February 2008 and the total of six filed in January 2009. 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.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.dot.gov. It is available in “pdf” and Microsoft Word format. Air Travel Consumer Report February 2009
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