DOT Report Cites Increases In Flight Delays, Mishandled Bags,
Consumer Complaints
US airlines experienced a higher rate of flight delays, more
reports of mishandled baggage and a higher number of complaints
about airline service in 2004 than in 2003, according to the US
Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Air Travel Consumer
Report which was issued today. However, the performance figures for
2004 were better than those for most previous years.
The 19 airlines reporting on-time performance with DOT recorded
an on-time arrival rate of 78.1 percent in 2004, which was the
fourth-best on-time record for a calendar year since 1995 but was
down from the 82.0 percent mark of 2003. These carriers also
recorded a rate of 4.91 reports of mishandled baggage per 1,000
passengers, up from 2003’s rate of 4.19 but the fourth-best
annual record since 1990. In addition, the Department received
7,477 complaints from consumers about airline service last year,
the second-fewest since 1996 but up 25 percent from 2003’s
5,983 complaints which was the lowest total since complaints were
first recorded in 1970.
The monthly report also includes data on the causes of flight
delays, as well as information on flight cancellations and on
consumer disability and discrimination complaints received by
DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division. This report also
includes data on airline reports of oversales ("bumping") during
the fourth quarter and January-December 2004.
Flight Delays
According to information filed with the Department’s
Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the US commercial air
carriers reporting on-time performance posted a 71.6 percent
on-time arrival record in December, down from both December
2003’s 76.0 and November 2004’s 79.1 percent marks.
Causes of Flight Delays
In December, the carriers filing on-time performance reported
that 8.60 percent of their flights were delayed by aviation system
delays, compared to 7.55 percent in November; 8.12 percent by
late-arriving aircraft, compared to 5.80 percent in November; 7.24
percent by factors within the airline’s control, such as
maintenance or crew problems, compared to 5.03 percent in November;
1.29 percent by extreme weather, compared to 1.01 percent in
November; and 0.13 percent for security reasons, compared to 0.07
percent in November. 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. Airlines first began reporting causes of
delays in June 2003.
Data collected by BTS
also show the percentage of overall flights delayed by weather,
including those reported in either the category of extreme weather
or included in National Aviation System delays. In December, 5.37
percent of flights were delayed by weather, down 1.65 percent from
December 2003, when 5.46 percent of flights were delayed by
weather, and up 4.68 percent from November when 5.13 percent of
flights were delayed by weather.
Flight Cancellations
The consumer report also includes BTS data on the number of
domestic flights canceled by the reporting carriers. In December,
the carriers canceled 2.8 percent of their scheduled domestic
flights, up from both December 2003’s 2.1 rate and November
2004’s 1.2 percent.
Mishandled Baggage
The US carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage
data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 9.11 reports per 1,000
passengers in December, up from December 2003’s rate of 5.69
and November 2004’s 4.53.
Bumping
The report also includes airline reports of involuntary denied
boarding, or bumping, for 2004 and the fourth quarter of last year.
In 2004, the US carriers that report on-time performance,
mishandled baggage data and bumping totals had a bumping rate of
0.86 per 10,000 passengers, identical to the rate for 2003. For the
fourth quarter, the carriers recorded a bumping rate of 0.90 per
10,000 passengers, up from the 0.78 rate recorded during the fourth
quarter of 2003.
Complaints About Airline Service
In December, the
department received 976 complaints about airline service from
consumers, more than double the 469 complaints filed in December
2003 and the total of 431 in November 2004.
Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers
The report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with
DOT in December and January-December 2004 against specific airlines
regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The
Department received a total of 39 disability-related complaints in
December, 34.5 percent more than the total of 29 filed in December
2003 and 62.5 percent more than the total of 24 complaints filed in
November 2004. For all of last year, the Department received 521
disability-related complaints, an increase of 38.9 percent from the
total of 375 received in 2003.
Complaints About Discrimination
In December, the Department received 10 complaints alleging
discrimination by airlines due to factors other than disability
– such as race, religion, national origin or sex –
compared to five received in December 2003 as well as in November
2004. For all of last year, the department received 114
discrimination complaints, up 34.1 percent from the 85 received in
2003.