FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 1, 2000
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel.: (202) 366-5571
DOT 21-00
DOT Issues Airline Consumer
and Disability
Complaint Data for 1999
The Department of Transportation today released its monthly Air Travel Consumer Report, which contains information on airline disability and service complaints, and on-time performance and mishandled baggage data for December 1999 and cumulative data for last year.
According to the report, consumers filed 20,495 complaints about airline and air travel company service with the department last year, more than double 1998's total of 9,608. The 1999 complaint total was the highest since 1988's total of 23,844. Consumers filed 1,477 complaints in December, 13 percent fewer than the 1,700 recorded in November but 168 percent more than the 551 tallied in December 1998.
The report contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT against specific airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. Consumers filed a total of 47 disability complaints in December, compared to 70 in November and 29 in December 1998. For 1999, consumers filed 595 disability complaints, compared to 374 in calendar year 1998, an increase of 59 percent.
The 10 largest U.S. carriers posted an on-time arrival record of 76.1 percent in 1999, not as good as 1998's rate of 77.2. In December 1999, the carriers posted on-time arrivals 78.0 percent of the time, not as good as the 81.4 percent recorded in November but better than the 73.2 percent mark of December 1998. The report also notes that flight delays can be caused by a variety of factors, some of which are outside of the airlines’ control. The data on which this report is based do not identify the cause, only the occurrence, of flight delays.
The carriers posted a mishandled baggage rate of 5.08 reports per 1,000 passengers last year, an improvement over 1998's rate of 5.16. December’s mark was 5.63, not as good as November’s 4.01 rate but much better than December 1998's 7.19.
The report also includes oversales data for the third quarter of 1999 and cumulative data for January-September 1999.
Consumers may file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, 400 7th St., S.W., Room 4107, Washington, D.C. 20590, by e-mail at airconsumer@ost.dot.gov,or by voice mail at (202) 366-2220.
The department reminded consumers who want on-time performance data for specific flights to call their airline ticket offices or their travel agents. This information is available on the computerized reservation systems used by these agents.
The Air Travel Consumer Report can be found on DOT’s World Wide Web site at http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer. It is available in "pdf" format.
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