Largest U.S. Airlines Reduce Bumping Rate, According to DOT Report
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DOT 71-02 Bill Mosley
202-366-5571
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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.
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