Airline performance plummets overall
Mishandled bags, rude or ineffective customer service and general flight problems led to sharply rising airline service complaints in May, says the US Transportation Department.
They were up almost 21 percent from the 879 complaints filed in April. That was also one-third higher than a year ago at the same time, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Other categories of major complaints about service — refunds, fares and handling disabled travelers — also showed sharp increases.
Large airlines were the target of more complaints. American Airlines had the most with 147, followed by Delta Air Lines with 107 and United Airlines with 101. Continental Airlines, which merged with United but reports separately to the government, received 72 complaints.
"The actual number of complaints is 1.29 per 100,000 enplanements, a very small number," says Steve Lott, a spokesman for the Air Transport Association. He added that was out of a total of 55 million flights in May.
Other airline performance indicators monitored by the Transportation Department — the rate at which flights arrived on time and long delays on airport tarmacs — were also down in that month.
Bad weather triggered system-wide delays at key hub airports, and the nation's 16 largest airlines posted an on-time arrival rate of 77.1 percent in May. That's down from 79.9 percent a year ago but slightly better than April's 75.5 percent, the bureau's statistics show.
By David Wilkening
David
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025