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USDOT:
November 2014 Flight Cancellations Slightly
Down
from Previous Year, Month
|
Washington,
DC – January 2015 / Newsmaker Alert / The nation’s largest airlines
canceled 0.9 percent of their scheduled domestic flights in November, an
improvement over both the 1.0 percent cancellation rate posted in November
2013 and the 1.1 percent rate in October 2014, according to the U.S. Department
of Transportation’s Air
Travel Consumer Report released Tuesday (January 13).
In
addition, the reporting carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 80.6
percent in November, down from the 83.5 percent on-time rate in November
2013, but up from the 80.0 percent mark in October 2014,
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 pets traveling by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers.
Tarmac
Delays
In
November, airlines reported four tarmac delays of more than three hours
on domestic flights and no tarmac delays of more than four hours on international
flights. Three of the reported tarmac delays involved flights departing
from Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport on November 22 during an ice storm.
All of the reported tarmac delays are under investigation by the Department.
Chronically
Delayed Flights
At
the end of November, there was one flight that was chronically delayed
– more than 30 minutes late more than 50 percent of the time – for three
consecutive months. There were an additional four regularly scheduled flights
that were chronically delayed for two consecutive months. There were no
chronically delayed flights for four consecutive months or more. A list
of flights that were chronically delayed for a single month is available
from BTS.
Causes
of Flight Delays
In
November, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that 5.93
percent of their flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared
to 6.48 percent in October; 6.72 percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared
to 6.87 percent in October; 5.19 percent by factors within the airline’s
control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared to 5.09 percent
in October; 0.46 percent by extreme weather, compared to 0.34 percent in
October; and 0.02 percent for security reasons, equal to 0.02 percent in
October.
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 shows the percentage of late flights delayed by weather,
including those reported in either the category of extreme weather or included
in National Aviation System delays. In November, 28.72 percent of late
flights were delayed by weather, up from 24.53 percent in October and 27.11
percent in November 2013.
Detailed
information on flight delays and their causes is available on the BTS site
at www.bts.gov.
Mishandled
Baggage
The
U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted
a mishandled baggage rate of 2.92 reports per 1,000 passengers in November,
up from both November 2013’s rate of 2.63 and October 2014’s rate of 2.87.
Incidents
Involving Pets
In
November, carriers reported two incidents involving the loss, death, or
injury of pets while traveling by air, down from the six reports filed
in November 2013, but equal to the two reports filed in October 2014. November’s
incidents involved the death of one pet and one injured pet.
Complaints
About Airline Service
In
November, the Department received 910 complaints about airline service
from consumers, up 20.2 percent from the total of 757 filed in November
2013, but down 25.0 percent from the 1,213 received in October 2014.
Complaints
About Treatment of Disabled Passengers
The
report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in November
against airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities.
The Department received a total of 43 disability-related complaints in
November, down from both the 52 complaints received in November 2013 and
the 65 complaints received in October 2014.
Complaints
About Discrimination
In
November, the Department received two complaints alleging discrimination
by airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion,
national origin, or sex – down from both the total of five recorded in
November 2013 and the nine recorded in October 2014.
Consumers
may file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection
Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey
Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590; by voice mail at 202-366-2220 or by TTY
at 202-366-0511; or on the web at www.dot.gov/airconsumer.
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.
The
Air Travel Consumer Report can be found on DOT’s website at www.dot.gov/airconsumer/air-travel-consumer-reports.
Facts
Air
Travel Consumer Report / January 2015
Key
November 2014 On-Time Performance and Flight Cancellation Statistics
Based
on Data Filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics by the 14 Reporting
Carriers and Tarmac Data Filed by All Carriers
Overall
80.6
percent on-time arrivals
Highest
On-Time Arrival Rates
1.
Hawaiian Airlines – 89.4 percent
2.
Delta Air Lines – 86.6 percent
3.
Alaska Airlines – 84.7 percent
Lowest
On-Time Arrival Rates
1.
Envoy Air (Formerly American Eagle Airlines) – 69.3 percent
2.
Frontier Airlines – 72.3 percent
3.
SkyWest Airlines – 76.4 percent
Domestic
Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Three Hours
1.
US Airways flight 1743 from Detroit to Miami, 11/22/14 – delayed on tarmac
228 minutes
2.
American Airlines flight 1125 from Detroit to Dallas-Fort Worth, 11/22/14
– delayed on tarmac 214 minutes
3.
JetBlue Airways flight 1836 from Detroit to Boston, 11/22/14 – delayed
on tarmac 206 minutes
4.
Southwest Airlines flight 1614 from Phoenix to Denver, 11/30/14 – delayed
on tarmac 186 minutes in Colorado Springs, Colo.
International
Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Four Hours
*
There were no international flights in November with tarmac delays exceeding
four hours.
Highest
Rates of Canceled Flights
1.
Envoy Air (Formerly American Eagle Airlines) – 3.5 percent
2.
SkyWest Airlines – 2.2 percent
3.
ExpressJet Airlines – 1.1 percent
Lowest
Rates of Canceled Flights
1.
Delta Air Lines – 0.1 percent
2.
Virgin America – 0.1 percent
3.
Hawaiian Airlines – 0.3 percent
Media
Contact:
Caitlin
Harvey
202-366-4570
Bureau
of Transportation Statistics |