On-time arrival rates for U.S. air carriers were down slightly in October, but fewer domestic flights were canceled and there were more tarmac delays of three hours or more, according to a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) report released on Tuesday.
USDOT’s Air Travel Consumer Report relies on data compiled by air carriers in October. The month’s 84.8 percent on-time arrival rate was down slightly year-over. Leading causes were aviation system delays, late-arriving aircraft, and maintenance and crew problems.
The report found that 0.7 percent of domestic flights were canceled, an improvement from the 1 percent cancellation rate in October 2016. October’s rate marked a dramatic improvement from the 3.3 percent cancellation rate in September, which was caused by Hurricanes Maria and Irma.
The report also found that the bumping rate was 0.15 per 10,000 passengers in the third quarter.
“For the first nine months of this year, the carriers posted a bumping rate of 0.39 per 10,000 passengers, the lowest January through September rate based on historical data dating back to 1995 and down from the rate of 0.65 posted during the first nine months of 2016,” USDOT states. “The previous lowest rate for the January through September period was 0.64 in 2002.”
Five incidents involving the death, injury or loss of an animal were reported. USDOT received 1,188 complaints about airline service, a 6.5 percent reduction from the 1,270 complaints submitted in October 2016. USDOT also fielded eight complaints alleging discrimination.