Flight Delays, Mishandled Bags, Consumer Complaints Drop in April
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Contact |
DOT 47-03
Bill Mosley
202-366-5571 |
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Monday, June 2, 2003� -- U.S. airlines reported fewer flight delays, cancellations and mishandled
bags in April, while consumers filed fewer total complaints about airline
service, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s monthly
Air Travel Consumer Report which was released today.
Flight Delays
According to information filed with the department’s Bureau of
Transportation Statistics (BTS), the 17 carriers reporting on-time performance
posted an 86.9 percent on-time arrival record in April, better than March’s
82.6 rate.� Skywest Airlines had the best on-time rate in April at 92.1
percent, followed by Southwest Airlines in second place at 90.8 and Delta
Air Lines third at 89.5.� Atlantic Southeast Airlines had the lowest percentage
of on-time flights at 78.5, with Atlantic Coast Airlines ranked 16th
at 78.9 percent and American Eagle Airlines 15th at 83.3 percent.�
The report contains a list of regularly scheduled flights that were late
at least 80 percent of the time. Only one flight was on this list for
April:� Northwest Airlines flight 1162 from Memphis, TN, to Baltimore/Washington
International Airport, late 84 percent of the time.
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. The
carriers that report delay data will be required, beginning in June, to
report the causes of delays and cancellations to BTS. �
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 some
of the delays caused by weather and 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 April, the carriers canceled
1.16 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, an improvement over
March’s 1.7 percent cancellation rate.� American Eagle had the highest
percentage of canceled flights in April at 3.96 percent, followed by Atlantic
Coast at 3.31 and Alaska Airlines at 1.94.� Skywest had the lowest percentage
of cancellations at 0.02 percent, followed by JetBlue Airways at 0.23
percent and Continental Airlines at 0.27 percent.����
Mishandled Baggage
The 17 U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data
posted a mishandled baggage rate of 3.59 reports per 1,000 passengers
in April, much better than March’s 4.37 rate.�
Complaints About Airline Service
In April, consumers filed 479 complaints about airline service with the
department, 48.4 percent fewer than the 929 complaints received in April
2002 and 11.1 percent below the total of 539 received in March 2003.
Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers
The report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in
April against specific airlines regarding the treatment of passengers
with disabilities.� The department received a total of 26 disability-related
complaints in April, 29.7 percent fewer than the total of 37 filed in
April 2002 but a slight increase over the 24 filed in March 2003.��
Complaints About Discrimination
In April, the department received 10 complaints alleging discrimination
by airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race,
religion, national origin or sex – a 50 percent drop from the total
of 20 recorded in April 2002 but an increase from the total of three received
in March 2003.
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, DC 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://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov.�� It
is available in “pdf” and Microsoft Word format.
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