Amid employee strikes, manufacturer controversies, service outages, and President Joe Biden’s crackdown on industry policies, American air travel is having its most tumultuous year since 2020. The United States Department of Transportation’s (DOT) latest report found 2% of August flights were canceled, surpassing their year-to-date cancellation rate of 1.7%.
As complications continue to frustrate millions and travelers file complaints with the DOT in record numbers, airlines are pushing back on the Biden administration’s calls for stronger consumer protections.
Traveler troubles
Cash refunds and carrier fines ease some worries. Still, consumers’ concerns span countless categories – punctuality, destruction of property and tech problems, among others.
Delays and cancellations
The DOT says flights are “on time” when landing and leaving within 15 minutes of the original schedule. But their latest findings say airlines reported nearly 100 domestic flight delays wherein passengers sat on tarmacs for three or more hours – 22 more than in July. Airlines reported 29 international flight delays of four or more hours, a sharp increase from just three last month.
Nine in 10 major U.S. airlines reported fewer on-time arrivals, according to the DOT. Hawaiian Airlines is the timeliest U.S. airline, with almost 87% of flights arriving on schedule. While good news for Hawaiian Airlines loyalists, the brand services the fewest airports of all airlines in the top 10. Delta Air Lines Network came in at No. 2, with 78.9% of flights arriving on time.
JetBlue reported the most delays, with just 60.7% of their flights landing on time. Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines follow closely behind, with 65.2% and 67.1% of on-time arrivals, respectively.
Customers looking to avoid such difficulties might consider Southwest Airlines, which has the lowest cancellation rate of any U.S. air carrier at 0.9%. JetBlue passengers are most likely to see flights canceled, followed by Frontier Airlines customers. Frontier Airlines notably made headlines in August when it canceled a Dallas-bound flight after its pilots’ Houston airport arrest.
A domino effect often delays flights. Once an aircraft arrives late to its destination, its next scheduled flight will also suffer a delay. These late arrivals cause 8.51% of delays. Other reported causes include systems issues and security complications. Extreme weather conditions contributed to only 0.92% of reported delays.
Tech issues
On July 19, a global technology outage stranded passengers worldwide after a software update crashed most airline systems. Among the hardest hit was Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, which canceled 6,500 flights after failing to recover from the system outage. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced in a news conference that the U.S. government is investigating Delta’s “breakdown of operations” and failed crisis response.
“I’m hearing a lot of things I’m very concerned about,” Buttigieg told reporters, “including people being on hold for hours and hours trying to get a new flight, people having to sleep on airport floors. Even accounts of unaccompanied minors being stranded in airports, unable to get on a flight.”
Mishandled mobility devices and luggage
Other logistics headaches also plague American travelers. In August 2024, airlines mishandled 0.64% of baggage, higher than the 0.61% of mishandled luggage reported in August 2023.
Air carriers mishandled 1.26% of scooters and wheelchairs in August 2024, fewer than the 1.52% similarly mishandled one year prior.
American Airlines reported a 22% improvement in its handling of mobility aids. Additionally, the airline announced its latest attempt to simplify equipment handling, launching mobility device tag printers in lobbies. Consumers can print labels for mobility aids similar to how many flyers already print bag tags.
Oversales
Even if a plane departs on schedule, passengers are not always guaranteed a seat. Many airlines overbook, selling more tickets than seats available to compensate for potential no-shows.
The International Air Transport Association alleges overselling is a strategy that “creates more choice and cheaper fares for consumers.”
However, airlines “bumped” more than 165,000 travelers in the first half of 2024, denying entry even when they held a ticket for that flight. Most chose compensation in exchange for their seat, but carriers involuntarily bumped around 13,300 passengers.
If not enough travelers offer to give up their seats, airlines have the legal right to bump passengers.
Travelers file unprecedented number of complaints
As industries continue to recover from COVID-19, the air travel industry finally approaches pre-pandemic passenger levels. More than 1.04 billion passengers traveled on flights within U.S. airspace in 2023, averaging 2.86 million daily – an 81.09% annual increase.
Although airlines might appreciate the revenue growth, more passengers means a higher likelihood of consumer complaints.
The DOT’s 2023 Annual Consumer Submission Data reports passengers filed nearly 97,000 complaints in the past year, an almost 13% increase from 2022. While foreign airlines reduced their share of complaints by 2.9%, U.S. carriers’ increased 28.7%. Travelers lodged around 67,000 complaints against domestic airlines, while nearly 70% of all grievances were with the DOT.
Complaints regarding civil rights violations rose 28% in 2023, with almost 3,000 total submissions. Most regard disability rights, while more than 200 complaints detail incidents of discrimination due to the passenger’s race or country of origin.
More complaints, more solutions?
According to the DOT, last year’s increase in complaints reflects consumers increasingly familiarizing themselves with their rights. Passengers on U.S. air carriers can read their rights at flightrights.gov and file complaints online or by mail with the DOT.
Travelers United is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit and aviation consumer advocacy group. Charlie Leocha, president of Travelers United, strongly recommends passengers raise concerns and file complaints with the DOT when necessary.
“There is no requirement to complain to [the] DOT,” Leocha explains. “But when travelers want change and a solution to their problem, [the] DOT complaints get action.”
This article was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.