Fewer Flight Delays, Cancellations Recorded In November
|
Contact |
DOT 1-03
Bill Mosley
202-366-5571 |
|
Thursday, January 2, 2003 -- The nation's largest air carriers recorded fewer flight delays and
cancellations in November 2002 than in November 2001 or October 2002,
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 85.2 percent on-time
arrival record in November, better than both November 2001's 84.7 percent
mark and October 2002's 84.2. US Airways had the best on-time arrival rate
in November at 88.7 percent, followed by United Airlines at 87.9 and
American Airlines at 87.6. American Eagle Airlines had the lowest
percentage of on-time flights in November at 79.3 percent, with Alaska
Airlines ranked ninth at 80.2 and America West Airlines eighth at 80.6.
The monthly report normally contains a list of regularly scheduled flights
that were late at least 80 percent of the time. During November 2002,
however, no flights were late this frequently, and, as a result, the list is
blank. The only previous reports in which this table contained no flights
were those for September 2002 and September 2001, with the latter report
containing on-time data only for Sept. 1-10 and therefore covering
insufficient operations to generate the table.
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 November, the carriers canceled 0.9
percent of their scheduled domestic flights, fewer than both November 2001's
1.1 percent and October's 1.0 percent. Alaska had the highest rate of
canceled flights in November at 2.8 percent, followed by American Eagle at
2.6 and Southwest Airlines at 1.1. Continental Airlines had the lowest
percentage of cancellations at 0.2 percent, followed by United at 0.4 and US
Airways, also at 0.4 but a fraction of a percentage point higher than
United's rate.
Mishandled Baggage
In November, the 10 U.S. airlines required to file flight delay and
mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 3.16 reports per
1,000 passengers, much better than November 2001's rate of 3.75 but slightly
higher than October's 3.09.
Complaints About Airline Service
The department received 519 complaints from consumers about airline service
in November, almost unchanged from both November 2001's total of 517 and
October's 518.
Complaints About Treatment of Passengers With Disabilities
The report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in November against specific airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The department received a total of 31 disability-related complaints in November, a 158 percent increase over the total of 12 recorded in November 2001, but 42.6 percent fewer than the 54 filed in October.
Complaints About Discrimination
Consumers registered five complaints in November alleging discrimination by
airlines due to factors other than disability - such as race, religion,
national origin or sex - 72.2 percent below the total of 18 filed in
November 2001 and identical to the total of five complaints filed in
October.
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.
|