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Air Travel Consumer Report: June 2019 Numbers

Thursday, September 19, 2019

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today released its August 2019 Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) on reporting marketing and operating air carrier data compiled for the month of June 2019.  The full consumer report and other aviation consumer matters of interest to the public can be found at http://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.

June On-Time Performance

In June 2019, reporting marketing carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 73.3%, down from both the 77.9% on-time rate in May 2019 and from 76.4% in June 2018.

Graph of June 2019 Flights Arriving On-Time By Marketing Carrier

Highest Reporting Marketing Carrier On-Time Arrival Rates (ATCR Table 1)

  1. Hawaiian Airlines Network – 89.6%
  2. Alaska Airlines Network – 83.2%
  3. Delta Air Lines Network – 78.7%

Lowest Reporting Marketing Carrier On-Time Arrival Rates (ATCR Table 1)

  1. Frontier Airlines – 64.0%
  2. United Airlines Network – 67.4%
  3. JetBlue Airways – 70.1%

June Cancellations

In June 2019, reporting marketing carriers canceled 2.1% of their scheduled domestic flights, a higher rate than both the rate of 2.0% in May 2019 and 1.8% in June 2018.

Lowest Reporting Marketing Carrier Rates of Canceled Flights (ATCR Table 6)

  1. Hawaiian Airlines Network – 0.4%
  2. Allegiant Air – 0.5%
  3. JetBlue Airways – 0.5%

Highest Reporting Marketing Carrier Rates of Canceled Flights (ATCR Table 6)

  1. American Airlines Network – 4.0%
  2. Frontier Airlines – 2.7%
  3. United Airlines Network – 2.2%

Tarmac Delays

In June 2019, airlines reported 49 tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights, compared to 44 such tarmac delays reported in May 2019 and 25 tarmac delays reported in June 2018.  In June 2019, airlines reported two tarmac delays of more than four hours on international flights, compared to seven tarmac delays reported in May 2019 and two tarmac delays reported in June 2018.  Extended tarmac delays are investigated by the Department.

Domestic Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Three Hours (ATCR Table 8)

  1. American Airlines flight 2357 from Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), 6/9/19 – delayed 3 hours and 55 minutes on the tarmac at DFW.
  2. American Airlines flight 2308 from Sacramento International Airport (SMF) to DFW, 6/9/19 – delayed 3 hours and 47 minutes on the tarmac at DFW.
  3. American Airlines flight 2550 from Miami International Airport (MIA) to DFW 6/9/19 – delayed 3 hours and 44 minutes on the tarmac at DFW.

International Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Four Hours (ATCR Table 8A)

  1. El Al Israel Airlines flight 7 from Tel Aviv, Israel, to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), 6/10/19 – delayed 5 hours and 47 minutes on the tarmac at New York Stewart International Airport (SWF), after being diverted.
  2. Delta Air Lines flight 193 from Venice, Italy, to Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), 6/24/19 – delayed 4 hours and 1 minute on the tarmac at  Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV), after being diverted.

Mishandled Baggage

In June 2019, the reporting marketing carriers posted a mishandled baggage rate of 7.07 mishandled bags per 1,000 checked bags, a higher rate than May 2019’s rate of 6.26 per 1,000 checked bags. For the first six months of the year, the carriers posted a mishandled baggage rate of 6.01 per 1,000 checked bags.

See the August 2019 Air Travel Consumer Report for mishandled wheelchair and scooter numbers by airline.

Mishandled Wheelchairs and Scooters

In June 2019, reporting marketing airlines reported checking 65,917 wheelchairs and scooters and mishandling 1,016, a rate of 1.54% mishandled, equal to the rate of 1.54% mishandled in May 2019.  In December 2018, DOT reported mishandled wheelchairs and scooters data for carriers for the first time. For the first six months of the year, the carriers posted a mishandled wheelchair and scooter rate of 1.62%.

See the August 2019 Air Travel Consumer Report for mishandled wheelchair and scooter numbers by airline.

Bumping/Oversales

Bumping/oversales data, unlike other air carrier data, are reported quarterly rather than monthly.  In the second quarter of 2019, the 10 U.S. reporting marketing carriers posted an involuntary denied boarding, or bumping, rate of 0.31 per 10,000 passengers, a slightly lower than the rate of 0.32 for the first quarter of 2019 but higher than the rate of 0.09 in the second quarter of 2018. 

For the first six months of 2019, the marketing carriers posted a bumping rate of 0.31 per 10,000 passengers, a higher rate than the 0.13 rate for the same period last year.

See the August 2019 Air Travel Consumer Report for denied boarding numbers by airline.

Incidents Involving Animals

In June 2019, U.S. airlines reported one incident involving the death, injury, or loss of an animal while traveling by air, down from the four reports filed in June 2018 and down from the four reports filed in May 2019. June’s incidents involved the death of one animal.

Complaints About Airline Service

In June 2019, DOT received 1,586 complaints about airline service from consumers, up 7% from the total of 1,477 filed in June 2018 and up 21% from the 1,289 received in May 2019. 

For the first six months of 2019, DOT received 7,161 complaints about airline service from consumers, down 4% from 7,439 received in the first six months of 2018.

Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers

In June 2019, the Department received a total of 70 disability-related complaints, down from the 81 complaints received in June 2018 and down from the 76 complaints received in May 2019.

For the first six months of 2019, DOT received 395 disability-related complaints from consumers, down 1% from 399 received in the first six months of 2018.

Complaints About Discrimination

In June 2019, the Department received 10 complaints alleging discrimination – six regarding race, one based on national origin, one regarding color, one regarding religion and one related to sexual discrimination.  This is up from the 8 complaints recorded in June 2018 and an increase from the 9 complaints received in May 2019. 

For the first six months of 2019, DOT received 50 discrimination-related complaints from consumers, up 11% from 45 received in the first six months of 2018.

All complaints alleging discrimination are investigated to determine if there has been a violation(s) of the passenger’s civil rights.

Consumers may file air travel consumer or civil rights complaints online at http://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm, by voicemail at (202) 366-2220, or by TTY at (202) 366-0511.  They may also mail a complaint to the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590.

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.