FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 2, 1998
Contact: Jeff Nelligan
OIG Communications Director
Telephone: (202) 366-6312
OIG 10-98
INSPECTOR GENERAL RECOMMENDS CLEAR POLICY
ON DETERMINING AIRLINE ARRIVAL TIMES
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has completed an audit of air carrier arrival data and has recommended that the Department articulate a clear policy on determining airline arrival times.
"Airline arrival times are of intense interest to consumers," said Inspector General Kenneth M. Mead. "Our audit identified two areas where the department can establish a clear policy on determining arrival times. First, we recommend that the department define arrival as the opening of the aircraft’s passenger door at the gate. Second, we recommend that the department disclose in its Air Travel Consumer Report what type of systems -- automated or manual -- the airlines use for recording arrival times. These steps will add clarity to the report, which provides travelers with information on the quality of air carrier services, including the key index of the percentage of on-time arrivals."
Domestic air carriers that account for at least one percent of domestic scheduled passenger revenues are required to submit monthly flight data to the Department of Transportation. The reporting carriers are: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, America West Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Trans World Airlines, United Airlines, and U.S. Airways.
Federal regulation and department policy define on-time arrival as the arrival of an aircraft at "the gate or passenger loading area" if that occurs no more than 15 minutes after the scheduled arrival time. The Inspector General found this definition vague in several respects. First, an aircraft could land at an airport within 15 minutes of its scheduled arrival yet be reported as late if it did not reach the gate in time. Second, air carriers are currently using five different methods to report arrival, including the following: when the aircraft’s parking break is set; when the engines are shut off; when blocks are placed behind aircraft wheels; when either the passenger door or cargo door is opened; and when the passenger door is opened.
Some of these methods could result in one carrier’s aircraft being reported as on time while another carrier’s aircraft, in the same situation, could be reported as late, the Inspector General said.
Also, both automated and manual systems are used to record flight arrival times. Although both are acceptable to the department, the manual self-reporting system affords air carriers greater leeway than automated systems. However, in the department’s monthly ranking of the 10 air carriers’ on-time performance, no distinction is made between those air carriers using either system, or a combination of the two.
The OIG audit was performed in response to a complaint alleging that two air carriers were submitting falsified arrival data to DOT for the purpose of scoring higher in the department’s performance rankings. In January of this year, the OIG conducted unannounced observations of 372 arriving flights of the two carriers, representing less than 1 percent of the carriers’ total flights for that month. Based on this study, discussions with DOT and air carrier representatives, and review of relevant documents and reporting systems, the OIG found no evidence that either carrier was submitting falsified data.
The report is available on the Office of Inspector General’s website at: www.dot.gov/oig.
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