Air Travel Consumer Report: May 2024 Numbers

Friday, August 9, 2024

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Friday, August 9, 2024

Air Travel Consumer Report: May 2024 Numbers

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today released its Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) on airline operational data compiled for the month of May 2024 for on-time performance, mishandled baggage, and mishandled wheelchairs and scooters. The ATCR is designed to assist consumers with information on the quality of services provided by airlines.

For May 2024, 1.4% of flights were cancelled, higher than the 0.6% cancellation rate for May 2023 and lower than the 2.0% cancellation rate in both 2022 and in pre-pandemic May 2019.

DOT expects that airlines will operate flights as scheduled and that when they do not, airlines will provide consumers the services promised when a flight is cancelled or delayed because of an airline issue. After a two-year DOT push to improve the passenger experience, the 10 largest U.S. airlines now guarantee meals and free rebooking on the same airline and nine guarantee hotel accommodations. Consumer-friendly information regarding airline commitments to their customers is available on the Department's Airline Customer Service Dashboard at FlightRights.Gov. DOT also pushed the 10 largest U.S. airlines to provide fee-free family seating, rolled out a new family seating dashboard that highlights the airlines that guarantee fee-free family seating and those that don't, and proposed a rule that would ban junk fees to seat children with their parents when they fly.

Flight Operations

The 640,137 flights operated in May 2024 were 104.46% of the 612,797 flights operated in May 2023. Operated flights in May 2024 were up 4.46% year-over-year from the 612,797 flights operated in May 2023 and up 3.97% month-over-month from 615,715 flights operated in April 2024.

In May 2024, the 10 marketing network carriers reported 649,428 scheduled domestic flights, 9,291 (1.4%) of which were cancelled. In April 2024, airlines scheduled 619,940 domestic flights, 4,225 (0.7%) of which were cancelled. In May 2023, airlines scheduled 616,630 domestic flights, 3,833 (0.6%) of which were cancelled.

May 2024 On-Time Arrival

In May 2024, reporting marketing carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 72.6%, down from both 80.4% in April 2024 and 81.2% in May 2023. The year-to-date on-time arrival rate for 2024 is 77.5%.

Highest Marketing Carrier On-Time Arrival Rates May 2024 (ATCR Table 1)

Delta Air Lines Network – 79.8%
Allegiant Air – 78.8%
Alaska Airlines Network – 78.0%

Lowest Marketing Carrier On-Time Arrival Rates May 2024 (ATCR Table 1)

Frontier Airlines – 63.6%
American Airlines Network – 66.3%
Southwest Airlines – 71.4%

May 2024 Flight Cancellations

In May 2024, reporting marketing carriers cancelled 1.4% of their scheduled domestic flights, higher than both the rate of 0.7% in April 2024 and the rate of 0.6% in May 2023. The year-to-date cancellation rate for 2024 is 1.5%.

Lowest Marketing Carrier Rates of Cancelled Flights May 2024 (ATCR Table 6)

Allegiant Air – 0.4%
Delta Air Lines Network – 0.4%
Alaska Airlines Network – 0.4%

Highest Marketing Carrier Rates of Cancelled Flights May 2024 (ATCR Table 6)

American Airlines Network – 2.7%
Frontier Airlines – 2.6%
Hawaiian Airlines – 2.5%

Complaints About Airline Service

Earlier this month, DOT released data on the submissions (complaints, inquiries, and opinions) it received from consumers about air travel for June-December 2023 and the full calendar year 2023. The submissions about air travel in calendar year 2023 are the highest number on record except for calendar year 2020.

The release of the submissions data in the ATCR continues to be delayed primarily because of the high volume of complaints against airlines and ticket agents received by the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) and the time needed to review and process these consumer complaints using the Department's outdated legacy consumer complaint application system. Over the past three years, complaints made up an average of 91% of consumer submissions. DOT plans to release data on the submission received from consumers about air travel for January-May 2024 later this month. .

The Department has been actively working on modernizing its system for handling consumer complaints with the support of a Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) investment to improve the customer experience for the tens of thousands of consumers who use the system each year. The modernization of the system will also enable OACP to engage in oversight of the airline industry more effectively and report complaint data to the public more quickly.

Tarmac Delays

In May 2024, airlines reported 38 tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights, compared to 11 tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights reported in April 2024. In May 2024, airlines reported four tarmac delay of more than four hours on an international flight, compared to one tarmac delay of more than four hours on international flights reported in April 2024.

Airlines are required to have and adhere to assurances that they will not allow aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours for domestic flights and four hours for international flights without providing passengers the option to deplane, subject to exceptions related to safety, security, and Air Traffic Control related reasons. An exception also exists for departure delays if the airline begins to return the aircraft to a suitable disembarkation point to deplane passengers by those times.

The Department investigates extended tarmac delays.

Mishandled Baggage

In May 2024, reporting marketing carriers handled 43.4 million bags and posted a mishandled baggage rate of 0.58%, higher than the rate of 0.46% in April 2024, and higher than the rate of 0.51% in May 2023.

The Department began displaying the mishandled baggage data as a percentage (i.e., per 100 bags enplaned) in January 2022. This is consistent with the manner that the mishandled wheelchairs and scooters rate is calculated and displayed.

In the prior three calendar year reports (2019 to 2021), the Department calculated the mishandled baggage rate based on the number of mishandled bags per 1,000 checked bags.

Mishandled Wheelchairs and Scooters

In May 2024, reporting marketing carriers reported checking 88,281 wheelchairs and scooters and mishandling 1,099 for a rate of 1.24% mishandled wheelchairs and scooters, lower than the rate of 1.27% mishandled in April 2024 and lower than the rate of 1.27% mishandled in May 2023.

To address many of the significant barriers and challenges experienced by passengers who use wheelchairs, the Department has proposed a rulemaking that, if adopted as proposed would make it an automatic violation of the Department's Air Carrier Access Act regulations for airlines to mishandle a passenger's wheelchair. This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would also enhance training requirements for airline personnel who provide hands-on transfer assistance to passengers and handle wheelchairs. The proposal is available at https://www.regulations.gov, docket number DOT-OST-2022-0144.

Bumping/Oversales

Bumping/oversales data, unlike other air carrier data, are reported quarterly rather than monthly.
For the first quarter of 2024, the 10 U.S. reporting marketing carriers posted an involuntary denied boarding, or bumping, rate of 0.27 per 10,000 passengers, lower than both the rate of 0.29 in the first quarter of 2023 and higher than the rate of 0.20 in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Incidents Involving Animals

In May 2024, carriers reported two incidents involving the death, injury, or loss of an animal while traveling by air, one death and one injury, higher than the zero reports filed in both April 2024 and in May 2023.

As part of its IT modernization, DOT's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) is improving the options for covered carriers to submit their monthly and annual Reports on Incidents Involving Animals During Air Transport. While the new system is being developed, OACP is permitting covered carriers to delay submission of reports on incidents involving animals during air transport. Annual data on such incidents will be published when DOT receives carriers' complete submissions of the 2023 data.

Consumers may file air travel consumer or civil rights complaints online at https://secure.dot.gov/air-travel-complaint, or they may mail a complaint to the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-70, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590.

The ATCR and other aviation consumer matters of interest to the public can be found at https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.

DOT's Historic Record of Consumer Protection Under the Biden-Harris Administration

DOT has issued a final rule that requires airlines to provide automatic cash refunds to passengers when owed and another final rule to protect consumers from costly surprise airline fees. These rules significantly expand consumer protections in air travel, provide passengers an easier pathway to refunds when owed, and save consumers more than half a billion dollars every year in hidden and surprise junk fees. Provisions of the final rule on airline refunds were fortified through the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Public Law 118-63) that President Biden signed into law on May 16, 2024. The final rule that DOT issued to protect consumers against costly airline junk fees has been challenged in court by the airline industry and the court has put a temporary hold on implementation of this rule. The Department will continue to defend this rule and notes that nothing in the Court's decision prevents airlines from voluntarily complying with this common-sense rule.
In addition, DOT is improving transportation for individuals with disabilities. In July 2023, DOT finalized a rule which requires airlines to make lavatories on new, single-aisle aircraft more accessible. Then, in February 2024, DOT issued a proposal to address other barriers that Americans who use a wheelchair encounter when it comes to air travel by, among other things, proposing to mandate enhanced training for airline employees and contractors who physically assist passenger with disabilities and handle passengers' wheelchairs.
Further, when necessary, DOT takes enforcement action against airlines and ticket agents that fail to comply with the Department's aviation consumer protection requirements. In 2023, DOT issued the largest fines in the history of the consumer protection office. This includes a $140 million penalty against Southwest Airlines for failing passengers during the 2022 holiday meltdown. That penalty, which was in addition to over $600 million DOT already ensured was refunded by Southwest to passengers, requires Southwest to establish a $90 million compensation system for passengers affected by significant delays and cancellations beginning April 30, 2024. Additionally, DOT has helped return nearly $4 billion in refunds to travelers since the pandemic began.
In April, DOT announced the launch of the bipartisan Airline Passenger Protection Partnership with 18 state attorneys general to investigate airlines and ticket agents and hold them accountable when they violate aviation consumer protection laws. The partnership significantly expands the Department's oversight capacity by establishing a new fast-track system prioritizing misconduct cases from state attorneys general who uncover unfair or deceptive airline practices. Through the partnership, DOT will provide state attorneys general with access to the federal complaint database and help ensure that airlines cooperate with state investigations.