WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation today released its March 2020 Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) on reporting marketing and operating air carrier data compiled for the month of January 2020. The full consumer report and other aviation consumer matters of interest to the public can be found at http://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.
January On-Time Performance
In January 2020, reporting marketing carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 84.6%, up from both the 78.2% on-time rate in December 2019 and 78.4% in January 2019.
Highest Marketing Carrier On-Time Arrival Rates January 2020 (ATCR Table 1)
1. Southwest Airlines – 88.7%
2. Delta Air Lines Network – 88.2%
3. Hawaiian Airlines Network – 88.1%
Lowest Marketing Carrier On-Time Arrival Rates January 2020 (ATCR Table 1)
1. Alaska Airlines Network – 77.9%
2. Allegiant Airlines – 78.8%
3. American Airlines Network – 81.6%
January Cancellations
In January 2020, reporting marketing carriers canceled 1.3% of their scheduled domestic flights, a higher rate than 1.1% in December 2019 but lower than 3.1% in January 2019.
Lowest Marketing Carrier Rates of Canceled Flights January 2020 (ATCR Table 6)
1. JetBlue Airways – 0.1%
2. Delta Air Lines Network – 0.3%
3. Spirit Airlines – 0.7%
Highest Marketing Carrier Rates of Canceled Flights January 2020 (ATCR Table 6)
1. Alaska Airlines Network – 2.0%
2. Southwest Airlines – 1.8%
3. United Airlines Network – 1.7%
Tarmac Delays
In January 2020, airlines reported four tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights, fewer than the 24 such tarmac delays reported in December 2019 and than the 10 domestic flight tarmac delays reported in January 2019. In January 2020, airlines reported no tarmac delays of more than four hours on international flights, compared to four such tarmac delays reported in December 2019 and four international flight tarmac delays reported in January 2019. Extended tarmac delays are investigated by the Department.
January Domestic Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Three Hours (ATCR Table 8)
1. Allegiant Air flight 1674 from Kansas City, Mo. (MCI) to Punta Gorda, Fla. (PGD) 1/17/20 – delayed 3 hours and 24 minutes on the tarmac at Kansas City
2. American Airlines flight 3899 (operated by Envoy Air) from Madison, Wisc. (MSN), to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) 1/10/20 – delayed 3 hours and 9 minutes on the tarmac at Madison
3. American Airlines flight 363 from Kansas City, Mo. (MCI), to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) 1/17/20 – delayed 3 hours and 2 minutes on the tarmac at Kansas City
4. United Airlines flight 203 from Kansas City, Mo. (MCI), to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) 1/17/20 – delayed 3 hours and 2 minutes on the tarmac at Kansas City
January International Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Four Hours (ATCR Table 8A)
There were no tarmac delays of more than four hours on international flights in January.
Mishandled Baggage
In January 2020, the reporting marketing carriers posted a mishandled baggage rate of 5.48 mishandled bags per 1,000 checked bags, a lower rate than the December 2019 rate of 6.61 per 1,000 checked bags and than the January 2019 rate of 6.08 per 1,000 checked bags
See the March 2020 Air Travel Consumer Report for mishandled baggage numbers by airline.
Mishandled Wheelchairs and Scooters
In January 2020, reporting marketing airlines reported checking 51,889 wheelchairs and scooters and mishandling 762, a rate of 1.47% mishandled, compared to the rate of 1.53% mishandled in December 2019 and the rate of 2.10% in January 2019.
See the February 2020 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. Fourth quarter 2019 bumping/oversales data were released in the February 2020 Air Travel Consumer Report . First quarter 2020 bumping/oversales data will be available in the May 2020 Air Travel Consumer Report .
See the February 2020 Air Travel Consumer Report for denied boarding numbers by airline.
Incidents Involving Animals
In January 2020, carriers reported three incidents involving the death, injury, or loss of an animal while traveling by air, up from the one report filed in January 2019 and the two reports filed in December 2019. January’s incidents involved the death of one animal and injury to two other animals.
Complaints About Airline Service
In January 2020, DOT received 1,306 complaints about airline service from consumers, up 48.9 percent from the total of 877 filed in January 2019 and up 5.2 percent from the 1,242 received in December 2019.
Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers
In January 2020, the Department received a total of 70 disability-related complaints, up from the 49 complaints received in January 2019, but down from the 88 complaints received in December 2019. All complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of disability are investigated.
Complaints About Discrimination
In January 2020, the Department received 11 complaints alleging discrimination – six regarding race, two regarding national origin, and three regarding religion. This is an increase from the total of seven discrimination complaints recorded in January 2019 and the nine recorded in December 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 http://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm. 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.
