Airlines see more complaints, delays, late arrivals and mishandled luggage in April

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today released its June 2019 Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) on reporting marketing and operating air carrier data compiled for the month of April 2019.

April On-Time Performance

In April 2019, reporting marketing carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 79.8%, down from both the 80.9% on-time rate in March 2019 and from 81.3% in April 2018.

Highest Reporting Marketing Carrier On-Time Arrival Rates (ATCR Table 1)

1. Hawaiian Airlines Network – 89.0%
2. Alaska Airlines Network – 85.5%
3. Delta Airlines Network – 83.9%

Lowest Reporting Marketing Carrier On-Time Arrival Rates (ATCR Table 1)

1. JetBlue Airways – 73.4%
2. American Airlines Network – 77.6%
3. Frontier Airlines – 77.6%

April Cancellations

In April 2019, reporting marketing carriers canceled 2.4% of their scheduled domestic flights, up from both the rate of 2.0% in March 2019 and 1.1% in April 2018.

Lowest Reporting Marketing Carrier Rates of Canceled Flights (ATCR Table 6)

1. Hawaiian Airlines Network – 0.1%
2. Allegiant Air – 0.7%
3. Delta Airlines Network – 0.7%

Highest Reporting Marketing Carrier Rates of Canceled Flights (ATCR Table 6)

1. Southwest Airlines – 4.0%
2. American Airlines Network – 3.2%
3. Spirit Airlines – 2.7%

Tarmac Delays

In April 2019, airlines reported 29 tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights, compared to five such tarmac delays reported in March 2019 and one tarmac delay reported in April 2018.  In April 2019, airlines reported one tarmac delay of more than four hours on international flights, compared to three tarmac delays reported in March 2019 and no tarmac delays reported in April 2018.  Extended tarmac delays are investigated by the Department.

Domestic Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Three Hours (ATCR Table 8)

1. Spirit Airlines flight 549 from Hartford, Conn. to Orlando, Fla., 4/19/19 – delayed 5 hours and 16 minutes on the tarmac at Orlando
2. Spirit Airlines flight 1852 from Denver to Orlando, Fla., 4/19/19 – delayed 4 hours and 34 minutes on the tarmac at Orlando
3. American Airlines flight 1352 from Chicago O’Hare to Los Angeles, 4/14/19 – delayed 4 hours and 12 minutes on the tarmac at Chicago O’Hare

International Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Four Hours (ATCR Table 8A)

1. Air India flight 127 from Delhi, India, to Chicago O’Hare, 4/1/19 – delayed 4 hours and 44 minutes on the tarmac at Minneapolis/St. Paul after being diverted

Mishandled Baggage

In April 2019, the reporting marketing carriers posted a mishandled baggage rate of 5.40 mishandled bags per 1,000 checked bags, a higher rate than March 2019’s rate of 5.24 per 1,000 checked bags.

Mishandled Wheelchairs and Scooters

In April 2019, reporting marketing airlines reported checking 54,637 wheelchairs and scooters and mishandling 711, a rate of 1.30% mishandled, compared to a rate of 1.72% mishandled in March 2019.  In December 2018, DOT reported mishandled wheelchairs and scooters data for carriers for the first time.  See the May 2019 Air Travel Consumer Report for mishandled wheelchair and scooter numbers by airline.

Bumping/Oversales

Bumping/oversales data, unlike other air carrier data, are reported quarterly rather than monthly.  First quarter 2019 bumping/oversales data were released in the May 2019 Air Travel Consumer Report.  January-June 2019 and second quarter 2019 bumping/oversales data will be available in the August 2019 Air Travel Consumer Report.

See pages 40-43 of the May 2019 Air Travel Consumer Report for denied boarding numbers by airline.

Incidents Involving Animals

In April 2019, U.S. airlines reported one incident involving the death, injury, or loss of an animal while traveling by air, equal to one report filed in April 2018 and one report filed in March 2019.  April’s incident involved the death of one animal.

Complaints About Airline Service

In April 2019, DOT received 1,205 complaints about airline service from consumers, up 3.0 % from the total of 1,170 filed in March 2018 and up 6.1% from the 1,136 received in March 2019.

Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers

In April 2019, the Department received a total of 80 disability-related complaints, up from the 74 complaints received in April 2018 and up from the 59 complaints received in March 2019.

Complaints About Discrimination

In April 2019, the Department received five complaints alleging discrimination – all regarding race.  This is down from the total of six complaints recorded in April 2018 and the six complaints in March 2019.  All complaints alleging discrimination are investigated to determine if there has been a violation(s) of the passenger’s civil rights.

Consumers may file air travel consumer or civil rights complaints online at https://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm, by voicemail at (202) 366-2220, or by TTY at (202) 366-0511.  They may also mail a complaint to the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590.

Consumers who want on-time performance data for specific flights should call their airline’s reservation number or their travel agent.  This information is available on the computerized reservation systems used by these agents.  The information is also available on the appropriate carrier’s website.