November Airline
On-Time Performance Improves from Last Year
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DOT 6-08
Bill Mosley
202-366-4570 |
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - The nation's
largest airlines had a higher rate of on-time flights this past November than
in the same month last year, although the rate of delays was higher than in
October 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 83.3 percent in November,
an improvement over November 2007's 80.0 percent but below October 2008's 86.0
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.
Cancellations
The consumer report includes BTS data on the number of
domestic flights canceled by the reporting carriers. In November, the
carriers canceled 0.8 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, lower than
the 1.0 percent cancellation rate of November 2007 but higher than the 0.6
percent rate posted in October 2008.
Tarmac Delays
In November, the carriers filing
on-time performance data reported that .00002 percent of their scheduled
flights had tarmac delays of three hours or more, down from .0001 percent in
October, the first month carriers reported this data. BTS is reviewing other parts of the tarmac
data reported by carriers for October and the following months. Data will
be released when the review is completed.
Causes of Flight Delays
In November, the carriers filing
on-time performance data reported that 6.58 percent of their flights were
delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 5.17 percent in October; 4.79
percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 3.93 percent in October; 3.89
percent by factors within the airline's control, such as maintenance or crew
problems, compared to 3.86 percent in October; 0.37 percent by extreme weather,
compared to 0.26 percent in October; and 0.02 percent for security reasons, compared
to 0.03 percent in October. 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 November,
42.08 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, up 11.26 percent from
November 2007, when 37.82 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, and
up 22.01 percent from October when 34.49 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 3.75 reports per 1,000 passengers in November, an improvement
over November 2007's rate of 4.90 but up from October 2008's 3.55 rate.
Incidents Involving
Pets
In November, carriers reported six incidents
involving pets while traveling by air, compared to three incidents in October. November's incidents involved three deaths,
two injuries and one lost pet.
Complaints
About Airline Service
In November, the Department received 532
complaints about airline service from consumers, down 34.3 percent from the 810
complaints filed in November 2007 and 15.2 percent fewer than the total of 627
received in October 2008.
Complaints About Treatment of Disabled
Passengers
The report also
contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in November against airlines
regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 28
disability-related complaints in November, 31.7 percent fewer than the 41 complaints
received in November 2007 and 30.0 percent fewer than the total of 40 filed in
October 2008.
Complaints
About Discrimination
In November,
the Department received seven complaints alleging discrimination by airlines
due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin
or sex – up from the three complaints recorded in November 2007 but down from
the total of 10 filed in October 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.dot.gov. It is available in "pdf" and Microsoft Word
format.
Air Travel Consumer Report November 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
83.3 percent on-time arrivals
Highest On-Time
Arrival Rates
1. Hawaiian
Airlines – 89.6 percent
2. Southwest
Airlines – 87.2 percent
3. Northwest
Airlines – 86.7 percent
Lowest On-Time
Arrival Rates
1. Atlantic
Southeast Airlines – 75.3 percent
2. Comair
– 77.1 percent
3. Delta
Air Lines – 77.4 percent
Most Frequently
Delayed Flights
1. ExpressJet Airlines flight 2396 from Newark,
NJ to Detroit
– late 83.33 percent of the time
2. Comair flight 6517 from Atlanta
to Austin, TX
– late 82.76 percent of the time
2. SkyWest Airlines flight 4393 from Atlanta
to San Antonio, TX
– late 82.76 percent of the time
4. Southwest Airlines flight 3091 from Pittsburgh
to Philadelphia – late 81.82
percent of the time
5. Mesa Airlines flight 2697 from Washington
Dulles to Charlotte, NC
– late 80.95 percent of the time
Flights with Longest Tarmac
Delays
ExpressJet Airlines flight 2534 from
Nashville, TN
to Newark, NJ,
11/30/08 – delayed on
tarmac 269 minutes
(This was the only flight with a reported
tarmac delay of four hours or more in November)
Highest Rates of
Canceled Flights
1. Mesa
Airlines – 1.3 percent
2. Pinnacle Airlines – 1.3 percent
3. Comair
– 1.2 percent
Lowest Rates of Canceled Flights
1. Continental
Airlines – 0.1 percent
2. Northwest
Airlines – 0.2 percent
3. Frontier
Airlines – 0.2 percent
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