US airlines experienced
a higher rate of flight delays, more reports of mishandled baggage
and a higher number of complaints about airline service in 2005
than in 2004, according to the DOT's Air Travel Consumer
Report.
According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation
Statistics (BTS), a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative
Technology Administration (RITA), the 20 airlines reporting on-time
performance with DOT recorded an on-time arrival rate of 77.4
percent in 2005, down from the 78.1 percent mark of 2004. These
carriers also recorded a rate of 6.04 reports of mishandled baggage
per 1,000 passengers last year, up from 2004’s rate of 4.91.
The Department received 8,735 complaints from consumers about
airline service last year, up 17.2 percent from 2004’s total
of 7,452 complaints.
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 2005, as well as reports required to be filed by
U.S. carriers of incidents involving pets traveling by air.
December Flight Delays
According to information filed with BTS, the carriers reporting
on-time performance posted a 71.0 percent on-time arrival record in
December, down from both December 2004’s 71.6 and November
2005’s 80.0 percent marks.
Causes of Flight Delays
In December, the
carriers filing on-time performance reported that 9.46 percent of
their flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared to
7.48 percent in November; 8.18 percent by late-arriving aircraft,
compared to 5.21 percent in November; 8.06 percent by factors
within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew
problems, compared to 5.41 percent in November; 1.13 percent by
extreme weather, compared to 0.69 percent in November; and 0.10
percent for security reasons, compared to 0.03 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.
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, 5.31 percent of flights were delayed by
weather, down 1.12 percent from December 2004, when 5.37 percent of
flights were delayed by weather, and up 13.70 percent from November
when 4.67 percent of flights were delayed by weather.
December 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 1.9 percent of their scheduled domestic
flights, down from December 2004’s 2.8 percent but up from
November 2005’s 1.0 percent.
Mishandled Baggage in December
The U.S. carriers
reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a
mishandled baggage rate of 7.73 reports per 1,000 passengers in
December, down from December 2004’s 9.11 but up from November
2005’s 5.00 rate.
Bumping
The report also includes airline reports of involuntary denied
boarding, or bumping, for 2005 and the fourth quarter of last year.
In 2005, the U.S. carriers that report on-time performance,
mishandled baggage data and bumping totals had a bumping rate of
0.89 per 10,000 passengers, slightly higher than the 0.86 rate for
2004. For the fourth quarter of 2005, the carriers recorded a
bumping rate of 0.83 per 10,000 passengers, down from the 0.90 rate
recorded during the fourth quarter of 2004.
Incidents Involving Pets
In December, carriers reported one incident involving pets while
traveling by air, involving the loss of a pet, down from the two
incidents reported in November. Carriers first began reporting pet
incidents in May 2005.
December Complaints About Airline Service
In December, the department received 640 complaints about
airline service from consumers, down 34.6 percent from the 979
complaints filed in December 2004 but up 22.1 percent from the
total of 524 received in November 2005.
Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers
The report also
contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in December and
January-December 2005 against specific airlines regarding the
treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received
a total of 30 disability-related complaints in December, down 30.2
percent from the total of 43 filed in December 2004 but 7.1 percent
more than the total of 28 complaints filed in November 2005. For
all of last year, the Department received 507 disability-related
complaints, a decrease of 3.4 percent from the total of 525
received in 2004.
Complaints About Discrimination
In December, 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 number as in December 2004 but up from the total of four filed
in November 2005. For all of last year, the department received 128
discrimination complaints, up 8.5 percent from the 118 received in
2004.
Consumers may file their complaints in writing with the Aviation
Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation,
C-75, Room 4107, 400 7th St., S.W., 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.
Consumers who want on-time performance data for specific flights
should call their airline ticket offices or their travel agents.
This information is available on the computerized reservation
systems used by these agents.