Airline On-Time Performance Improves
in May
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Contact |
DOT 97-09
Bill Mosley
202-366-4570 |
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Thursday, July 9, 2009 - The nation's largest
airlines had a rate of on-time flights this past May that was higher than both the
same month last year and the mark posted in April 2009, 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 80.5 percent in May, better
than both the 79.0 percent on-time rate of May 2008 and April 2009's 79.1
percent.
The monthly report also includes data
on lengthy tarmac delays, flight cancellations and the causes of flight delays
by the reporting carriers, as well as reports of mishandled baggage filed with
the carriers, and consumer service, disability and discrimination complaints
received by DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division. This
report also includes reports of incidents involving pets traveling by air, as
required to be filed by
U.S. carriers.
Cancellations
The consumer report includes BTS data on the number of domestic
flights canceled by the reporting carriers. In May, the carriers canceled
0.9 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, lower than both the 1.0 percent
cancellation rate of May 2008 and the 1.5 percent rate posted in April 2009.
Tarmac Delays
In May, the carriers filing on-time
performance data reported that .0064 percent of their scheduled flights had
tarmac delays of three hours or more, down from .0152 percent in April. There were eight flights with tarmac delays
of four hours or more in May.
Causes of Flight Delays
In May, the carriers filing on-time
performance data reported that 7.36 percent of their flights were delayed by
aviation system delays, compared to 7.40 percent in April; 5.84 percent by
late-arriving aircraft, compared to 6.19 percent in April; 4.56 percent by
factors within the airline's control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared
to 4.78 percent in April; 0.62 percent by extreme weather, compared to 0.69
percent in April; and 0.03 percent for security reasons, the same percentage as
April. 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 May, 47.01 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, up 6.72
percent from May 2008, when 44.05 percent of late flights were delayed by
weather, and up 5.93 percent from April when 44.38 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 3.56 reports per 1,000 passengers in May, an
improvement over both May 2008's rate of 4.60 and April 2009's 3.79 rate.
Incidents Involving
Pets
In May, carriers reported three incidents
involving the loss, death or injury of pets while traveling by air, down from
six incidents in May 2008. Carriers
reported zero pet incidents in April 2009. May's incidents involved two deaths and one lost pet.
Complaints
About Airline Service
In May, the Department received 656 complaints
about airline service from consumers, down 25.9 percent from the 885 complaints
filed in May 2008 and 16.0 percent fewer than the total of 781 complaints
received in April 2009.
Complaints About Treatment of Disabled
Passengers
The report also
contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in May against airlines
regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 39
disability-related complaints in May, the same total that was recorded in May
2008 but down from the total of 46 received in April 2009.
Complaints
About Discrimination
In May,
the Department received 13 complaints alleging discrimination by airlines due
to factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin or
sex – the same total that was recorded in May 2008 but down from the total of
14 received in April 2009.
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.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.dot.gov. It is available in "pdf" and Microsoft Word
format.
Air Travel Consumer Report May 2009
Key On-Time Performance and Flight Cancellation Statistics
Based on Data Filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics by the 19 Reporting Carrier
Overall
80.5 percent on-time arrivals
Highest On-Time
Arrival Rates
1. Hawaiian
Airlines – 90.3 percent
2. SkyWest
Airlines – 86.8 percent
3. Pinnacle
Airlines – 86.8 percent
Lowest On-Time
Arrival Rates
1. Comair
– 65.7 percent
2. Atlantic
Southeast Airlines – 70.8 percent
3. AirTran
Airways – 75.6 percent
Most Frequently
Delayed Flights
1. Comair flight 6313 from New York JFK to Minneapolis/St.
Paul – late 96.77 percent of the time
2. Comair flight 6652 from Kansas
City, MO to New York LaGuardia
– late 92.00 percent of the time
3. JetBlue Airways flight 348 from Sarasota/Bradenton,
FL to New York JFK – late 90.00 percent of the time
4. JetBlue Airways flight 1080 from Charlotte,
NC to New York JFK – late 88.89 percent of
the time
5. Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight 5518 from Baton
Rouge, LA to Atlanta
– late 88.46 percent of the time
Flights with Longest Tarmac
Delays
1. Mesa
Airlines flight 7262 from Washington Dulles to Rochester,
NY, 5/29/09 – delayed on tarmac 311 minutes
2. Delta
Air Lines flight 141 from New York JFK to Cincinnati,
5/16/09 – delayed on
tarmac 294 minutes
3. Mesa
Airlines flight 7296 from Washington Dulles to Syracuse,
NY, 5/29/09 – delayed on tarmac 271 minutes
4. Mesa
Airlines flight 7346 from Washington Dulles to Newark,
NJ, 5/29/09 – delayed on tarmac 268 minutes
5. American
Eagle Airlines flight 4451 from New York JFK to Cleveland,
05/16/09 – delayed on
tarmac 267 minutes
Highest Rates of
Canceled Flights
1. American
Eagle Airlines – 2.2 percent
2. Comair
– 2.1 percent
3. American
Airlines – 1.4 percent
Lowest Rates of Canceled Flights
1. Continental Airlines – 0.2 percent
2. Alaska
Airlines – 0.2 percent
3. Northwest
Airlines – 0.2 percent
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