08/30/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/30/2024 09:40
Friday, August 30, 2024
Contact:[email protected]
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today released its Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) on airline operational data compiled for the month of June 2024 and the first six months of 2024 for on-time performance, mishandled baggage, mishandled wheelchairs and scooters, and second quarter oversales. The ATCR is designed to assist consumers with information on the quality of services provided by airlines.
For June 2024, 1.3% of flights were cancelled, lower than the 2.1% cancellation rate for June 2023, lower than the 3.1% cancellation rate for June 2022, and lower than the 2.1% cancellation rate in pre-pandemic June 2019.
For the first six months of 2024, the reporting marketing carriers posted a cancellation rate of 1.4%, down from 1.6% for the same period in 2023, down from 3.2% for the same period in 2022, and down from 2.4% for the same period in 2019.
DOT expects that airlines will operate flights as scheduled and that when they do not, airlines will provide consumers the services promised when a flight is cancelled or delayed because of an airline issue. After a two-year DOT push to improve the passenger experience, the 10 largest U.S. airlines now guarantee meals and free rebooking on the same airline and nine guarantee hotel accommodations. Consumer-friendly information regarding airline commitments to their customers is available on the Department's Airline Customer Service Dashboard atFlightRights.Gov. DOT also pushed the 10 largest U.S. airlines to provide fee-free family seating and rolled out a new family seating dashboard that highlights the airlines that guarantee fee-free family seating and those that don't. Four airlines - American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and Frontier Airlines - have stepped forward to guarantee fee-free family seating.
Flight Operations
The 643,484 flights operated in June 2024 were 107.12% of the 600,721 flights operated in June 2023. Operated flights in June 2024 were up 7.12% year-over-year from the 600,721 flights operated in June 2023 and up 0.52% month-over-month from 640,137 flights operated in May 2024.
In June 2024, the 10 marketing network carriers reported 651,799 scheduled domestic flights, 8,315 (1.3%) of which were cancelled. In May 2024, airlines scheduled 649,428 domestic flights, 9,291 (1.4%) of which were cancelled. In June 2023, airlines scheduled 613,577 domestic flights, 12,856 (2.1%) of which were cancelled.
June 2024 On-Time Arrival
In June 2024, reporting marketing carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 74.3%, up from both 72.6% in May 2024 and 71.3% in June 2023. The year-to-date on-time arrival rate for 2024 is 76.9%.
Highest Marketing Carrier On-Time Arrival Rates June 2024 (ATCR Table 1)
Lowest Marketing Carrier On-Time Arrival Rates May June (ATCR Table 1)
For the first six months of 2024, the reporting marketing carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 76.93%, up from 76.48% for the same period in 2023.
June 2024 Flight Cancellations
In June 2024, reporting marketing carriers cancelled 1.3% of their scheduled domestic flights, lower than both the rate of 1.4% in May 2024 and the rate of 2.1% in June 2023. The year-to-date cancellation rate for 2024 is 1.4%.
Lowest Marketing Carrier Rates of Cancelled Flights June 2024 (ATCR Table 6)
For the first six months of 2024, the reporting marketing carriers posted a cancellation rate of 1.4%, down from 1.6% for the same period in 2023.
Complaints About Airline Service
Last month,DOT released dataon the submissions (complaints, inquiries, and opinions) it received from consumers about air travel for June-December 2023 and the full calendar year 2023.
The release of the submissions data in the ATCR continues to be delayed primarily because of the high volume of complaints against airlines and ticket agents received by the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) and the time needed to review and process these consumer complaints using the Department's outdated legacy consumer complaint application system. Over the past three years, complaints made up an average of 91% of consumer submissions. DOT plans to release data on the submission received from consumers about air travel for January-May 2024 in September.
The Department has been actively working on modernizing its system for handling consumer complaints with the support of a Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) investment to improve the customer experience for the tens of thousands of consumers who use the system each year. The modernization of the system will also enable OACP to engage in oversight of the airline industry more effectively and report complaint data to the public more quickly.
Tarmac Delays
In June 2024, airlines reported 70 tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights, compared to 38 tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights reported in May 2024. In June 2024, airlines reported six tarmac delay of more than four hours on an international flight, compared to four tarmac delay of more than four hours on international flights reported in May 2024.
Airlines are required to have and adhere to assurances that they will not allow aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours for domestic flights and four hours for international flights without providing passengers the option to deplane, subject to exceptions related to safety, security, and Air Traffic Control related reasons. An exception also exists for departure delays if the airline begins to return the aircraft to a suitable disembarkation point to deplane passengers by those times.
The Department investigates extended tarmac delays.
Mishandled Baggage
In June 2024, reporting marketing carriers handled 44.6 million bags and posted a mishandled baggage rate of 0.58%, same as the rate of 0.58% in May 2024, and lower than the rate of 0.70% in June 2023.
For the first half of 2024, the carriers posted a mishandled baggage rate of 0.56%, lower than the rate of 0.61% posted in the first half of 2023.
The Department began displaying the mishandled baggage data as a percentage (i.e., per 100 bags enplaned) in January 2022. This is consistent with the manner that the mishandled wheelchairs and scooters rate is calculated and displayed.
In the prior three calendar year reports (2019 to 2021), the Department calculated the mishandled baggage rate based on the number of mishandled bags per 1,000 checked bags.
Mishandled Wheelchairs and Scooters
In June 2024, reporting marketing carriers reported checking 82,778 wheelchairs and scooters and mishandling 1,075 for a rate of 1.30% mishandled wheelchairs and scooters, higher than the rate of 1.24% mishandled in May 2024 and lower than the rate of 1.45% mishandled in June 2023.
For the first half of 2024, the carriers posted a mishandled wheelchair and scooter rate of 1.31%, lower than the rate of 1.37% posted in the first half of 2023.
To address many of the significant barriers and challenges experienced by passengers who use wheelchairs, the Department has proposed a rulemaking that, if adopted as proposed would make it an automatic violation of the Department's Air Carrier Access Act regulations for airlines to mishandle a passenger's wheelchair. ThisNotice of Proposed Rulemakingwould also enhance training requirements for airline personnel who provide hands-on transfer assistance to passengers and handle wheelchairs.
Bumping/Oversales
Bumping/oversales data, unlike other air carrier data, are reported quarterly rather than monthly.
For the second quarter of 2024, the 10 U.S. reporting marketing carriers posted an involuntary denied boarding, or bumping, rate of 0.33 per 10,000 passengers, lower than the rate of 0.36 in the second quarter of 2023 and higher than the rate of 0.20 in the fourth quarter of 2023.
For 2024 year to date, the carriers posted bumping/oversales rate of 0.30% lower than the rate of 0.33% for year-to-date 2023.
Incidents Involving Animals
In June 2024, carriers reported one incident involving the death, injury, or loss of an animal while traveling by air, lower than the two reports filed in May 2024 and equal to the one report filed in June 2023. June's incident involved the death of one animal.
As part of its IT modernization, DOT's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) is improving the options for covered carriers to submit their monthly and annual Reports on Incidents Involving Animals During Air Transport. While the new system is being developed, OACP continues to collect and publish monthly reports on animal incidents from covered carriers but has permitted carriers to delay submission of the annual report on the total number of animals transported and the total number of incidents involving animals during air transport. Annual data on such incidents will be published when DOT receives carriers' complete submissions of the 2023 data.
Consumers may file air travel consumer or civil rights complaints online athttps://secure.dot.gov/air-travel-complaint, or they may mail a complaint to the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-70, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590.
The ATCR and other aviation consumer matters of interest to the public can be found athttps://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.
DOT's Historic Record of Consumer Protection Under the Biden-Harris Administration