Those agonizingly long airport tarmac delays that we've
heard so much about over the last several years may be a thing of the past. At
least they were in October.
According to the Air Travel Consumer Report released by the Department of Transportation (DOT), the nation's largest airlines reported
no flights in October with tarmac delays of more than three hours. A year
earlier there were 11.
This is the first month there were no tarmac delays of more
than three hours by the reporting carriers since the Department began
collecting more comprehensive tarmac delay data in October 2008.
Remarkable declines
Data filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics
(BTS) showed there have been only 12 total tarmac delays of more than three
hours reported from May through October this year by the 18 airlines that file
on-time performance data with DOT. There were 546 during the same five-month
period of 2009. October was the sixth
full month of data since the new aviation consumer rule went into effect on
April 29.
The largest carriers canceled 0.97 percent of their
scheduled domestic flights in October, a slight drop from the year before. And
they posted a 0.90 percent cancellation rate in September 2010.
The number of canceled flights with tarmac delays of more
than two hours increased only slightly this year, from 224 between May and
October 2009 to 230 between May and October 2010. There were five canceled flights with tarmac delays of more than
two hours in October 2010 -- one more than in October 2009.
"October was the first month that there were no tarmac
delays lasting longer than three hours since our rule was adopted," said
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "We appreciate the effort that the
airlines are putting into making this new rule work effectively for the benefit
of their passengers."
The new tarmac delay rule prohibits U.S. airlines operating
domestic flights from permitting an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more
than three hours without deplaning passengers. Exceptions are allowed only for
safety or security or if air traffic control advises the pilot in command that
returning to the terminal would disrupt airport operations.
Chronically Delayed Flights
At the end of October, there was only one flight that was
chronically delayed -- more than 30 minutes late more than 50 percent of the
time -- for three consecutive months. There were no other flights chronically
delayed for two consecutive months and no chronically delayed flights for four
consecutive months or more.
Mishandled baggage
Carriers posted a mishandled baggage rate of 2.91 reports
per 1,000 passengers in October, an improvement over October 2009's rate of
3.51, but worse than September 2010's 2.89 rate.
Incidents involving pets
In October, carriers reported seven incidents involving the
loss, death or injury of pets while traveling by air. There were no reports
filed the year before four in September 2010.
October's incidents involved three pet deaths, three injuries and one
lost pet.
Service complaints
In October, the Department received 749 complaints about
airline service from consumers, down 16.5 percent from the 898 complaints filed
in October 2009, and down 0.8 percent from the 755 received in September 2010.
Treatment of disabled passengers
The report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed
with DOT in October against airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with
disabilities. The Department received a
total of 49 disability-related complaints in October, compared with 55 a year
earlier and 41 the month before.
Discrimination
In October, the Department received six complaints alleging
discrimination by airlines during October due to factors other than disability
-- such as race, religion, national origin or sex -- down from the total of 10
recorded in both October 2009 and September 2010.
Consumers may file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590; by voice mail at (202) 366-2220 or by TTY at (202) 366-0511; or on the Web.
