SOURCE: Los Angeles TimesNew data from the airline industry shows delays and other travelers’ nightmares are on the decline, including lost luggage, however, complaints against the industry are rising.
A report released Monday from the U.S. Department of Transportation showed that only three flights were delayed more than three hours on airport runways in July, compared with 161 flights in July 2009.
The same report shows that the rate of mishandled luggage reports dropped by about 7% and the rate of passengers being involuntarily bumped from flights fell by nearly 26%.
Despite such declining statistics, the number of complaints against U.S. airlines jumped by about 32% in July, compared with the previous July, according to the report.
Ironically, the greatest number of complaints against the airlines involved delays, cancellations, baggage problems and objections over reservations, ticketing and boarding snafus, according to the report.
The report doesn’t address issues concerning walk through metal detector delays and problems or the delays caused out on the tarmac by air cargo screeners.
The three flights that were delayed more than three hours were all operated by American Eagle Airlines departing from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on July 23 when storms brought heavy rain and wind gusts to the area.
Passenger rights activists believe the decline in lengthy airline delays over the last few months is because of the new fines imposed by the Obama administration against airlines that leave passengers sitting on a tarmac for three hours or more. The fines of up to $27,500 per passenger were adopted in December and took effect April 29.
The report, issued each month by the Aviation Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Transportation, tracks on-time performance of the major airlines, departure and arrival delays, the rate of mishandled bags per passenger and the rate of complaints per passenger.
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MY TAKE: The biggest delay at airports seems to be the long lines at metal detectors. I’m rarely impacted by what cargo handling workers might be up to on the tarmac. I’m often very frustrated to see lines held up by families with lots of kids and gadgets and bags that seem so unnecessary. If you ask me, delays on flights would improve if the airlines and the FAA were to set up “family” lines for metal detectors and bag searches at the boarding gates.
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