Bad weather in the New York area accounted for the lion's share of airline tarmac delays during October, the most recent reporting period.
Airlines reported a total of seven tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights and 11 tarmac delays of more than four hours on international flights in October, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report.
All of the domestic tarmac delays longer than three hours and international tarmac delays longer than four hours took place October 29 and involved flights bound for either New York JFK or Newark airports. Nearly all of the tarmac delays took place at airports to which these flights were diverted. All of the reported tarmac delays are under investigation by the Department.
The larger U.S. airlines have been required to report long tarmac delays on their domestic flights since October 2008. Under a new rule that took effect Aug. 23, 2011, all U.S. and foreign airlines operating at least one aircraft with 30 or more passenger seats must report lengthy tarmac delays at U.S. airports.
Also beginning Aug. 23, carriers operating international flights may not allow tarmac delays at U.S. airports to last longer than four hours. This is in addition to the three-hour limit on domestic tarmac delays, which went into effect in April 2010.
Exceptions to the time limits for both domestic and international flights are allowed only for safety, security or air traffic control-related reasons.
On-Time Performance
Information filed with BTS shows that the 16 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 85.5 percent in October, up slightly from both the 83.8 percent on-time rate of October 2010 and September 2011’s 83.9 percent rate.
Cancellations
During October, the carriers canceled 0.77 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, down from both October 2010’s 0.97 percent cancellation rate and September 2011’s 0.82 percent.
Chronically Delayed Flights
At the end of October, there was one flight that was chronically delayed – more than 30 minutes late more than 50 percent of the time – for three consecutive months. There was an additional flight that was chronically delayed flights for two consecutive months. No flights were chronically delayed for four consecutive months. A list of flights that were chronically delayed for a single month is available from BTS (www.bts.gov).
Causes of Flight Delays
In October, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that 4.60 percent of their flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 5.16 percent in September; 4.60 percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 5.24 percent in September; 4.03 percent by factors within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared to 4.29 percent in September; 0.26 percent by extreme weather, compared to 0.37 percent in September; and 0.03 percent for security reasons, equal to 0.03 percent in September.
Weather is a factor in both the extreme-weather category and the aviation-system category. This includes delays due to the re-routing of flights by DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration in consultation with the carriers involved. Weather is also a factor in delays attributed to late-arriving aircraft, although airlines do not report specific causes in that category.
Mishandled Baggage
The U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 2.71 reports per 1,000 passengers in October, down from both October 2010’s rate of 2.88 and September 2011’s rate of 2.81.
Incidents Involving Pets
In October, carriers reported three incidents involving the loss, death or injury of pets while traveling by air, down from the seven reports filed in October 2010, but equal to September 2011’s total of three. October’s incidents involved three pet deaths.
Complaints About Airline Service
In October, the Department received 862 complaints about airline service from consumers, up 15.1 percent from the 749 complaints received in October 2010, but down 11.5 percent from the total of 974 filed in September 2011.
Complaints About 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 60 disability-related complaints in October 2011, up from both the 49 disability complaints received in October 2010 and the total of 56 filed in September 2011.
Complaints About Discrimination
In October, the Department received 15 complaints alleging discrimination by airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin or sex – up from the total of six filed in October 2010, but equal to the 15 discrimination complaints received in September 2011.
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 at http://airconsumer.dot.gov.
Consumers who want on-time performance data for specific flights should call their airline’s reservation number or their travel agent. This information is available on the computerized reservation systems used by these agents. The information is also available on the appropriate carrier’s website.
The Air Travel Consumer Report can be found on DOT’s World Wide Web site at http://airconsumer.dot.gov. It is available in “pdf” and Microsoft Word format.
