Fewer Cancellations Reported In January As Well

The nation’s largest airlines posted an on-time arrival rate of 76.8 percent in January, up from both the 67.7 percent on-time rate in January 2014 and the 75.3 percent mark in December 2014, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report.

In addition, the reporting carriers canceled 2.5 percent of their scheduled domestic flights in January, an improvement over the 6.5 percent cancellation rate posted in January 2014, but up from the 1.4 percent rate in December 2014.

January marks the first month in which Spirit Airlines was required to report on-time performance and mishandled baggage data to the Department. It becomes a ranked carrier in those sections of the report. Additionally, AirTran Airways no longer appears as a ranked carrier in the report as result of the completion of its merger with Southwest Airlines in December 2014. American Airlines and US Airways, following their December 2013 merger announcement, will report separately until the Department approves single carrier reporting and a single economic certificate is issued.
 
The consumer report also includes data on tarmac delays, chronically delayed flights, and the causes of flight delays filed with the Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by the reporting carriers.  In addition, the consumer report contains statistics on mishandled baggage, as well as consumer service, disability, and discrimination complaints received by DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division.  The Department routinely contacts individual carriers when it notices spikes or significant variations in complaint types or complaint levels in regulated areas. The consumer report also includes reports of incidents involving the loss, death, or injury of animals traveling by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers.

FMI: www.bts.gov