System Proving Adequate for Lowered Level of Service

Perhaps showing the silver lining in the SARS cloud, U.S. airlines reported fewer flight delays, cancellations and mishandled bags in April, while consumers filed fewer total complaints about airline service, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s monthly Air Travel Consumer Report.

Flight Delays

According to information filed with the department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the 17 carriers reporting on-time performance posted an 86.9 percent on-time arrival record in April, better than March’s 82.6 rate. Skywest Airlines had the best on-time rate in April at 92.1 percent, followed by Southwest Airlines in second place at 90.8 and Delta Air Lines third at 89.5. Atlantic Southeast Airlines had the lowest percentage of on-time flights at 78.5, with Atlantic Coast Airlines ranked 16th at 78.9 percent and American Eagle Airlines 15th at 83.3 percent.

The report contains a list of regularly-scheduled flights that were late at least 80 percent of the time. Only one flight was on this list for April:  Northwest Airlines flight 1162 from Memphis (TN) to Baltimore/Washington International Airport, late 84 percent of the time. (The report contains a note reminding consumers that flight delays can be caused by a variety of factors. The data on which this report is based do not identify the causes, only the occurrence, of flight delays. That little oversight will change in June.)

[These official on-time data are distinct from the data compiled by the FAA, which records delays while aircraft are under control of the air traffic control system (i.e., from actual gate pushback time to actual gate arrival time). FAA data cover some of the delays caused by weather and volume, for example, but do not cover delays at the gate such as those caused by aircraft mechanical problems, crew unavailability or many weather conditions affecting flights before they depart. The FAA data are useful for managing the air traffic control system but are not designed to measure airline passenger delays.]

Flight Cancellations

The consumer report also includes BTS data on the number of domestic flights canceled by the reporting carriers. In April, the carriers canceled 1.16 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, an improvement over March’s 1.7 percent cancellation rate. American Eagle had the highest percentage of canceled flights in April at 3.96 percent, followed by Atlantic Coast at 3.31 and Alaska Airlines at 1.94. Skywest had the lowest percentage of cancellations at 0.02 percent, followed by JetBlue Airways at 0.23 percent and Continental Airlines, 0.27 percent.

Mishandled Baggage

The 17 U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 3.59 reports per 1,000 passengers in April, much better than March’s 4.37 rate.

Complaints About Airline Service

In April, consumers filed 479 complaints about airline service with the department, 48.4 percent fewer than the 929 complaints received in April 2002 and 11.1 percent below the total of 539 received in March 2003.

Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers

The report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with the DoT in April against specific airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The department received a total of 26 disability-related complaints in April, 29.7 percent fewer than the total of 37 filed in April 2002 -- but a slight increase over the 24 filed in March 2003.

Complaints About Discrimination

In April, the department received 10 complaints alleging discrimination by airlines due to factors other than disability -– such as race, religion, national origin or sex -– a 50 percent drop from the total of 20 recorded in April 2002 but an increase from the total of three received in March 2003.

How YOU can complain:

Consumers may file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, 400 7th St., S.W., Room 4107, 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.

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