DOT Report Shows Weather As Greatest Cause of Airline Delays

The Department of Transportation (DOT) has released, for the first time, monthly data on the causes of airline delays, showing that weather in October was a major factor in flight delays by larger U.S. airlines.

Of the nearly 550,000 flights operated in October by the reporting carriers, almost 1,700 were delayed by extreme weather which interfered with flight operations, and more than 13,000 were delayed by weather that prevented the aviation system from operating at full capacity. Other flights were delayed when the previous flight using the same aircraft was delayed by weather and other causes.

The new data will benefit consumers by providing more information about the cause of flight delays and making them more knowledgeable about how the U.S. aviation system works and what causes problems in the system. It also will provide DOT with useful data which can be monitored to ensure that passengers are being provided accurate information by airlines and that airlines are realistically scheduling their flights.

A monthly summary of the carriers’ reports on the causes of delays starting with October is included in the department’s monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. The report also includes data on cancellations, reports of mishandled baggage filed with the carriers, and airline service, disability and discrimination complaints received by DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division.

Collection of data on causes of delays was mandated by the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, signed in April 2000, in order to provide consumers with better information about the nature of delays. A DOT advisory committee developed recommendations that provided the basis of BTS regulations requiring the carriers to report on the causes of delays.

In October, the 17 airlines that file data on flight delays reported that 86.4 percent of their flights arrived on time.

For those flights that arrived late, the carriers reported these numbers for five categories:

• 5.43 percent of flights were affected by aviation system delays. A total of 57.6 percent of these delays were attributable to weather conditions, such as the re-routing of flights by DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in collaboration with the carriers. The remaining delays were due to causes such as airport operations, heavy traffic volume and air traffic control.
• 3.49 percent were delayed by circumstances within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems.
• 3.29 percent were delayed due to the previous flight being delayed, causing the present flight to depart late – another category in which weather is an indirect factor.
• 0.30 percent of flights were delayed by extreme weather – in which the airline decided to delay the flight due to significant meteorological conditions, actual or forecast, that in the judgment of the carrier delayed or prevented the operation of the flight.
• 0.05 percent were delayed for security reasons, such as by the evacuation of a terminal or concourse, re-boarding of aircraft because of a security breach, inoperative screening equipment and long lines causing waits in excess of 29 minutes at screening areas.

The information on the BTS site further details the extent to which weather is a cause of aviation system delays. The department noted that the percentage of delays and their causes will vary from month to month.

Flight Delays

According to information filed with BTS, the 17 carriers reporting on-time performance posted an 86.4 percent on-time arrival record in October, an improvement over September’s 85.6 percent rate and the third best monthly performance since DOT began collecting comparable on-time reports in 1995. JetBlue Airways had the highest on-time rate in October at 90.4 percent.

Flight Cancellations

The report also includes BTS data on the number of domestic flights canceled by the reporting carriers. In October, the carriers canceled 0.9 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, down from September’s 1.4 percent cancellation rate.

Mishandled Baggage

The 17 U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 3.23 reports per 1,000 passengers in October, slightly higher than September’s 3.17 rate.

Complaints About Airline Service

DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division received 398 complaints from consumers about airline service in October, down 23.8 percent from the 522 complaints filed in October 2002 and 13.5 percent fewer than the total of 460 received in September 2003.

Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers

The report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in October against specific airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The department received a total of 34 disability-related complaints in October, 38.2 percent fewer than the 55 filed in October 2002 and 17.1 percent fewer than the 41 recorded in September 2003.

Complaints About Discrimination

In October, the department received six complaints alleging discrimination by airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin or sex – identical to the total for October 2002 and down one-third from the nine received in September 2003.

FMI: www.bts.gov, http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov, www.dot.gov