The end of year report is out and the airline industry has passed with flying colors.
The Transportation Department said the industry is in its best shape for decades across a number of consumer metrics.
The Air Travel Consumer Report said airlines canceled just 1.17% of their domestic flights in 2016, down from 1.5% a year earlier.
The previous record low was 1.24% in 2002.
The consumer report collated extensive data on airline performance including any significant tarmac delays, and severely delayed flights, along with the causes of these flight delays.
Airlines lost or mishandled 2.7 bags per 1,000 passengers, which was the lowest rate since the department began collecting data 30 years ago.
The report also found airlines overbooked an average 0.62 for every 10,000 passengers in 2016.
This is yet another record.
Airline service related complaints logged with the DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division also showed a marked improvement for the year.
However complaints alleging discrimination filed by passengers surged by 45% year over year.
It rose to 94 individual complaints compared with 65 in 2015.
