737 Pylt
Um....Floats anyone??
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- Jul 8, 2003
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Flight delays, complaints rose in '04, report finds
Stormy weather and regional jets are blamed for the increase
By LESLIE MILLER
Associated Press
WHO'S ON TIME
Some indicators of airline performance:
Highest on-time arrival rates
• 1. Hawaiian Airlines, 93.8 percent
• 2. Continental Airlines, 75.7 percent
• 3. AirTran Airlines, 75.4 percent
Lowest on-time arrival rates:
• 1. Comair, 62.5 percent
• 2. Alaska Airlines, 63.2 percent
• 3. ExpressJet Airlines, 67 percent
Highest rates of canceled flights
• 1. Comair, 15.6 percent
• 2. SkyWest Airlines, 4.6 percent
• 3. Atlantic Southeast Airlines, 3.6 percent
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
WASHINGTON - Congested skies and bad weather last year resulted in more flight delays, more mishandled baggage and more complaints about airline service than in 2003, the government announced Thursday.
Arriving at least 15 minutes late last year were 21.9 percent of flights for the biggest airlines, which carry the vast majority of passengers. That represents a 22 percent increase in late arrivals over 2003, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics says in a report.
The lowest fares since 1988 have drawn more passengers than ever onto commercial airlines, according to the Air Transport Association.
David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, said many of those people are now being carried on smaller planes.
"The more of these regional jets and small aircraft that enter the system, the more delays we'll experience," Stempler said.
The report included statistics from the stormy holiday month of December, which was fraught with problems that reached a climax on Christmas. Then, tens of thousands of travelers were stranded after Comair canceled all of its flights and US Airways separated planeloads of passengers from their luggage.
More cancellations
Kenneth Mead, the Transportation Department's inspector general, is investigating why US Airways and Comair grounded 1,100 flights on Christmas.
Throughout December, airports didn't just seem more crowded with passengers who had nowhere to go; the report showed one-third more flights were canceled than in December 2003.
Nearly a third — 28.4 percent — of all flights arrived late that month. The number of complaints in December soared to 976, more than double the number filed that month a year earlier.
Complaints of mishandled baggage also rose by 60 percent in December, to 9.11 reports per 1,000 passengers from 5.69 reports per 1,000 the year before.
For the year, mishandled luggage reports rose from 4.19 per 1,000 passengers in 2003 to 4.91 in 2004. Consumer complaints increased from 5,983 to 7,477.
The Transportation Department's report says the most common cause of late arrivals was the air traffic control system, accounting for 30 percent of late arrivals.
Stormy weather and regional jets are blamed for the increase
By LESLIE MILLER
Associated Press
WHO'S ON TIME
Some indicators of airline performance:
Highest on-time arrival rates
• 1. Hawaiian Airlines, 93.8 percent
• 2. Continental Airlines, 75.7 percent
• 3. AirTran Airlines, 75.4 percent
Lowest on-time arrival rates:
• 1. Comair, 62.5 percent
• 2. Alaska Airlines, 63.2 percent
• 3. ExpressJet Airlines, 67 percent
Highest rates of canceled flights
• 1. Comair, 15.6 percent
• 2. SkyWest Airlines, 4.6 percent
• 3. Atlantic Southeast Airlines, 3.6 percent
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics
WASHINGTON - Congested skies and bad weather last year resulted in more flight delays, more mishandled baggage and more complaints about airline service than in 2003, the government announced Thursday.
Arriving at least 15 minutes late last year were 21.9 percent of flights for the biggest airlines, which carry the vast majority of passengers. That represents a 22 percent increase in late arrivals over 2003, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics says in a report.
The lowest fares since 1988 have drawn more passengers than ever onto commercial airlines, according to the Air Transport Association.
David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, said many of those people are now being carried on smaller planes.
"The more of these regional jets and small aircraft that enter the system, the more delays we'll experience," Stempler said.
The report included statistics from the stormy holiday month of December, which was fraught with problems that reached a climax on Christmas. Then, tens of thousands of travelers were stranded after Comair canceled all of its flights and US Airways separated planeloads of passengers from their luggage.
More cancellations
Kenneth Mead, the Transportation Department's inspector general, is investigating why US Airways and Comair grounded 1,100 flights on Christmas.
Throughout December, airports didn't just seem more crowded with passengers who had nowhere to go; the report showed one-third more flights were canceled than in December 2003.
Nearly a third — 28.4 percent — of all flights arrived late that month. The number of complaints in December soared to 976, more than double the number filed that month a year earlier.
Complaints of mishandled baggage also rose by 60 percent in December, to 9.11 reports per 1,000 passengers from 5.69 reports per 1,000 the year before.
For the year, mishandled luggage reports rose from 4.19 per 1,000 passengers in 2003 to 4.91 in 2004. Consumer complaints increased from 5,983 to 7,477.
The Transportation Department's report says the most common cause of late arrivals was the air traffic control system, accounting for 30 percent of late arrivals.
