Largest U.S. Airlines Reduce Bumping Rate, According to DOT Report

Contact DOT 71-02 Bill Mosley 202-366-5571

Thursday, August 1, 2002 -- The largest U.S. airlines reduced their rates of involuntary denied boarding, or bumping, during the second quarter of 2002 and the first half of this year, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report issued today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

According to the report, the 10 largest U.S. carriers posted a rate of 0.65 bumps per 10,000 passengers during the second quarter of this year, compared to a rate of 0.80 for the first quarter of 2002 and 0.88 for the second quarter of 2001. For the first six months of this year, the carriers had a bumping rate of 0.72 per 10,000 passengers, compared to 0.82 for the first six months of 2001.

DOT's report also includes data about flight delays and mishandled baggage, as well as complaints about airline service, the treatment of passengers with disabilities and alleged discrimination by airlines.

Flight Delays

According to information filed with the department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the 10 carriers reporting on-time performance posted a 78.6 percent on-time arrival record in June, not as good as May's 82.8 percent but better than June 2001's 75.2 percent. Continental Airlines had the best on-time arrival rate in June at 81.5 percent, followed by US Airways in second place at 81.0 and America West Airlines third at 80.3. Alaska Airlines had the lowest percentage of on-time flights, ranked tenth at 74.6, with American Eagle Airlines ranked ninth at 76.2 and Northwest Airlines eighth at 77.4.

The report contains a list of regularly scheduled flights that were late at least 80 percent of the time. In June, the five most-delayed flights were all operated by Southwest Airlines: flight 1367 from Detroit to Chicago Midway, late 96 percent of the time; flight 1791 from Midway to Kansas City, Mo., late 94.74 percent; flight 990 from San Jose, CA, to Burbank, CA, late 94.74 percent; flight 681 from Midway to Detroit, late 90 percent; and flight 1367 from Midway to Kansas City, late 88.89 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 June, the carriers canceled 1.7 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, higher than May's rate of 1.0 percent but better than June 2001's 3.0 percent. American Eagle had the highest rate of canceled flights in June at 3.9 percent, followed by Northwest at 2.4 and Alaska at 2.3. Continental had the lowest percentage of cancellations at 0.5 percent, followed by Southwest at 0.9 and Delta Air Lines at 1.0.

Mishandled Baggage

In June, the 10 largest U.S. airlines posted a mishandled-baggage rate of 4.03 reports per 1,000 passengers, not as good as the record-low mark of 3.32 set in May but better than June 2001's 4.60. For the first six months of this year, the carriers recorded a rate of 4.00 mishandled-baggage reports per 1,000 passengers, better than the 4.76 mark set in January-June 2001.

Complaints About Airline Service

The department received 892 complaints about airline service in June, 18.1 percent higher than the 755 complaints received in May but 48.2 percent below the 1,723 received in June 2001. For the first six months of this year, DOT received 5,626 complaints, 42.4 percent below the 9,773 received in January-June 2001.

Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers

The report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in June against specific airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The department received a total of 50 disability-related complaints in June, an increase of 72.4 percent over the 29 complaints filed in May and 8.7 percent more than June 2001's total of 46. For the first six months of this year, the department received 247 disability-related complaints, down 16 percent from the 294 filed in January-June 2001.

Complaints About Discrimination

Consumers registered 13 complaints in June alleging discrimination by airlines due to factors other than disability - such as race, religion, national origin or sex - up from the nine complaints filed in May and slightly higher than the total of 12 filed in June 2001. For the first six months of this year, the department received 138 discrimination complaints, up 94.4 percent over the 71 filed in January-June 2001.

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.

The Air Travel Consumer Report can be found on DOT's World Wide Web site at http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer. It is available in "pdf" and Microsoft Word format.