US airlines are more often arriving on time but customer complaints have risen sharply, according to the latest federal data.
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Nearly 82 percent of domestic flights operated by the 18 largest US carriers arrived on time in August, improving from 79.7 percent in August 2009, according to the Transportation Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
But the number of complaints filed with the Transportation Department rose by more than one third at the same time. There were 350 reports about cancellations, delays and missed connections compared with 254 a year ago. Complaints about boarding, ticketing and baggage also increased.
“Complaints are rising as airlines add flights. In August, the airlines operated 569,200 flights, carrying 52.1 million passengers. A year ago, 51.4 million passengers flew on 568,300 flights,” said the AP.
Hawaiian Airlines, which flies mostly among the islands, had the best on-time arrival rate. Delta subsidiary Comair posted the worst.
A flight is considered on time if it arrives within 15 minutes of schedule, but airlines have also been padding their schedules to arrive on time.
By David Wilkening
