October's Airline On-Time Performance Better Than Previous Year But Down From September
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Contact |
DOT 122-07
Bill Mosley
202-366-4570 |
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Monday,
December 3, 2007 - The nation's largest airlines recorded lower
rates of flight delays and cancellations this past October than during the same
month last year but higher than those posted in September 2007, 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 20 carriers reporting on-time
performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 78.2 percent in October,
better than October 2006's 72.9 percent but below September 2007's 81.7
percent.
The report also
shows that these carriers canceled 1.2 percent of their scheduled flights in
October, down from October 2006's cancellation rate of 1.9 percent but slightly
higher than September 2007's 1.1 percent.
The monthly report also includes
data on causes of flight delays, as well as mishandled baggage and consumer service,
disability and discrimination complaints received by DOT's Aviation Consumer
Protection Division. This report also
includes reports required to be filed by U.S. carriers of incidents involving pets traveling by air.
Causes of Flight Delays
The carriers filing on-time
performance data reported that 7.54 percent of their October flights were
delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 5.89 percent in September; 6.62
percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 5.32 percent in September; 5.63 percent
by factors within the airline's control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared
to 5.25 percent in September; 0.64 percent by extreme weather, compared to 0.56
percent in September; and 0.05 percent for security reasons, the same
percentage as September. 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 October, 39.83 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, down
1.44 percent from October 2006, when 40.41 percent of late flights were delayed
by weather, and up 16.60 percent from September when 34.16 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 delay and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled
baggage rate of 5.36 reports per 1,000 passengers in October, lower than both
the 7.49 rate of October 2006 and the 5.45 rate for September 2007.
Incidents Involving
Pets
In October, carriers reported four incidents
involving pets while traveling by air, up from two incidents in September. The
October incidents involved two deaths, one injury and one lost pet.
Complaints
About Airline Service
In October, the Department received 1,096
complaints from consumers about airline service, 74.2 percent more than the 629
complaints received in October 2006 and 22.5 percent more than the total of 895
filed in September 2007.
Complaints
About Treatment of Disabled Passengers
The report also contains a tabulation of complaints
filed with DOT in October against airlines regarding the treatment of passengers
with disabilities. The Department
received a total of 56 disability-related complaints in October, nearly double the
29 complaints received in October 2006 and up 21.7 percent from the 46
complaints received in September 2007.
Complaints About Discrimination
In October, the
Department received 11 complaints alleging discrimination by airlines due to
factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin or sex
– up slightly from both the totals of 10 discrimination complaints filed in
both October 2006 and September 2007.
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
ticket offices or their travel agents. 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.ost.dot.gov. It is available in “PDF” and Microsoft Word
format.
Air Travel Consumer Report October 2007
Key On-Time Performance and Flight Cancellation Statistics
Based on Data Filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics by the 20 Reporting Carrier
Overall
78.2 percent on-time
arrivals
Highest On-Time Arrival Rates
1. Hawaiian Airlines – 94.6 percent
2. Aloha Airlines – 91.5 percent
3. Frontier Airlines – 84.4 percent
Lowest On-Time Arrival Rates
1. Atlantic Southeast Airlines – 63.6 percent
2. Alaska Airlines – 70.1 percent
3. Comair – 74.4 percent
Most Frequently Delayed Flights
1. Comair flight 4949 from New York JFK to Philadelphia– late 92.59 percent of the time
2. Comair flight 5674 from Little Rock, AR to Atlanta – late 92.31 percent of the time
3. Comair flight 5418 from New York JFK to Manchester, NH – late 90.32 percent of the time
4. Comair flight 5123 from Syracuse, NY to New York JFK – late 88.89 percent of
the time
4. Continental Airlines flight 540 from Pittsburgh to Newark, NJ – late 88.89 percent of the time
4. Continental Airlines flight 537 from Newark, NJ to Pittsburgh – late 88.89 percent of the time
Highest Rates of Canceled Flights
1. Pinnacle Airlines – 2.8 percent
2. Mesa Airlines – 2.3 percent
3. Atlantic
Southeast Airlines – 2.1 percent
Lowest
Rates of Canceled Flights
1. Frontier Airlines – 0.0 percent*
2. Hawaiian Airlines – 0.2 percent
3. AirTran Airways – 0.4 percent
*Frontier canceled three flights in October
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