According to a new report from the U.S. Department of Transportation, consumer air travel service complaints are up nearly 270 percent above what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) for the month of June and the second quarter of 2022 looked at airline operational data on on-time performance, consumer complaints received, mishandled baggage, and mishandled wheelchairs and scooters. Complaints increased nearly 35 percent from May to June.
According to the ATCR, while the number of flights operated is not up to pre-pandemic levels, the number of canceled flights is higher than before the pandemic. Flights in June 2022 were 85.8 percent of what they were in June 2019 – 583,584 flights compared to 679,802. But of those, 3.1 percent (18,473) were canceled in June 2022, nearly double the percentage canceled in June 2019 (9,196 or 1.6 percent).
Carriers reported that 73.5 percent of those flights were on-time, up from 73.3 percent in June 2019. For the first six months of 2022, carriers reported a 75.94 percent on-time rate, down from 77.41 percent pre-pandemic. The three airlines with the highest on-time rates were Alaska Airlines Network (78.7 percent), Delta Air Lines Network (78.4 percent), and Hawaiian Airlines (77.2 percent);. In contrast, Allegiant Air (59 percent), JetBlue Airways (61.3 percent), and Frontier Airlines (69.5 percent) had the worst on-time arrival rates.
The DOT reported it had received 5,862 complaints about airline service from consumers in June 2022 – up 34.9 percent from the number received in May 2022 (4,344) and up 269.6 percent from the number received in June 2019 (1,586). In the first six months of 2022, the DOT received 28,550 complaints, more than it received in the whole year of 2019.
Consumers’ biggest complaints (28.8 percent) were about flight cancellations, delays, or other deviations from the airlines’ schedules. Nearly a quarter of the complaints concerned refunds, the department said. The DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) said it is continuing to communicate with airlines and travel companies to ensure passengers receive the refunds they deserve. The report noted that many passengers who were initially denied refunds received them after DOT intervention.
The department said it remains committed to ensuring airline passengers are treated fairly and is concerned about recent flight cancellations and disruptions. The OACP said it monitors airlines’ operations to ensure that airlines are not setting unreasonable flight schedules and complying with consumer protection requirements – including prompt refund policies.
Last week, the department said, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sent a letter to U.S. airlines urging them to improve customer service plans. Buttigieg also announced the DOT would create an interactive dashboard before Labor Day to make it easier for the traveling public to determine what services – like hotels and meals – would be provided to them when a flight cancellation or delay is due to an issue within an airline’s control.