Airline
On-Time Performance in March Better Than in February
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DOT 68-08
Bill Mosley
202-366-4570 |
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Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - The largest
U.S. airlines’ rate of on-time flights this past March was lower than in the same
month last year but higher than the rate recorded in February, 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 71.6 percent in March, below
March 2007’s 73.3 percent but better than February 2008’s 68.6 percent. Aloha Airlines, which reported on-time
performance voluntarily, recently ceased operations, reducing the number of
reporting carriers from 20 to 19.
The monthly report also includes
data on flight cancellations and the causes of flight delays, as well as information
on reports of mishandled baggage filed with the carriers, airline bumping, 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.
Cancellations
The consumer report includes BTS data on the number of domestic
flights canceled by the reporting carriers. In March, the carriers
canceled 2.6 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, the same rate
recorded in March 2007 but down from February 2008’s 3.6 percent.
Causes of Flight Delays
In March, the carriers filing on-time
performance data reported that 8.56 percent of their flights were delayed by
aviation system delays, compared to 9.36 percent in February; 8.87 percent by
late-arriving aircraft, compared to 9.74 percent in February; 7.11 percent by factors
within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems, the same
percentage as in February; 0.93 percent by extreme weather, compared to 1.19
percent in February; and 0.07 percent for security reasons, compared to 0.05
percent in February. 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 March, 41.41 percent
of late flights were delayed by weather, up 9.55 percent from March 2007, when 37.80 percent of late flights were delayed
by weather, and down 11.74 percent from February when 46.92 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 6.66 reports per 1,000 passengers in March, an
improvement over March 2007’s rate of 7.74 but above February 2008’s 6.39 rate. For the first three months of this year, the
carriers posted a 6.81 mishandled baggage rate, down from the 8.05 rate for
January-March 2007.
Bumping
The report also includes airline reports of
involuntary denied boarding, or bumping, for the first quarter of this
year. Of the 19 U.S. carriers who report on-time performance and mishandled baggage data, 18 are
also required to report their bumping records to DOT. These 18 carriers
posted a bumping rate of 1.36 per 10,000 passengers for the quarter, down from
the 1.46 rate for the first quarter of 2007.
Incidents
Involving Pets
In March, carriers reported five incidents
involving pets while traveling by air, up from one incident in February. The March incidents involved three deaths and
two injured pets.
Complaints
About Airline Service
In March, the department received 1,013
complaints about airline service from consumers, down 22.5 percent from the 1,307
complaints filed in March 2007 but 8.2 percent more than the total of 936 received
in February 2008. For the first quarter
of this year, the Department received 3,121 air service complaints, up 8.1
percent from the 2,887 complaints filed during the first three months of 2007.
Complaints About Treatment of Disabled
Passengers
The report also
contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in March against specific
airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 43 disability-related
complaints in March, 16.2 percent above the 37 filed in March 2007 and 22.9
percent more than the 35 complaints received in February 2008. For the first quarter of this year, the
Department received 122 disability complaints, up 41.9 percent from the 86
complaints filed during the first three months of 2007.
Complaints
About Discrimination
In March,
the Department received six complaints alleging discrimination by airlines due
to factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin or
sex – down from both the eight complaints received in March 2007 and the nine
complaints filed in February 2008. For
the first quarter of this year, the Department received 26 discrimination
complaints, up 8.3 percent from the 24 complaints filed during the first three
months of 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’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.ost.dot.gov. It is available in “pdf” and Microsoft Word
format.
Air Travel Consumer Report March 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
71.6 percent on-time arrivals
Highest On-Time
Arrival Rates
1. Hawaiian
Airlines – 94.5 percent
2. US
Airways – 79.1 percent
3. Alaska
Airlines – 78.0 percent
Lowest On-Time
Arrival Rates
1. American
Airlines – 62.0 percent
2. Comair
– 66.0 percent
3. American
Eagle Airlines – 66.4 percent
Most Frequently
Delayed Flights
1. American Airlines flight 791 from New York
LaGuardia to Dallas-Fort Worth – late 92.31 percent of the time
1. ExpressJet Airlines flight 2286 from Newark,
NJ to Dayton,
OH – late 92.31 percent of the time
3. ExpressJet Airlines flight 2429 from Newark,
NJ to Burlington,
VT – late 90.32 percent of the time
4. Southwest Airlines flight 274 from Las
Vegas to Reno, NV
– late 90.00 percent of the time
4. Southwest Airlines flight 50 from Dallas Love
Field to Kansas City, MO
– late 90.00 percent of the time
Highest Rates of
Canceled Flights
1. American
Eagle Airlines – 5.9 percent
2. American
Airlines – 5.6 percent
3. Pinnacle
Airlines – 5.2 percent
Lowest Rates of Canceled Flights
1. Frontier
Airlines – 0.5 percent
2. Alaska
Airlines – 0.7 percent
3. Hawaiian
Airlines – 0.8 percent
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