Air Travel Consumer Report: August 2024 Numbers

Monday, October 21, 2024

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 August 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 August 2024, 2.0% of flights were cancelled, higher than the year-to-date cancellation rate of 1.7% in 2024.

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 and rolled out a new family seating dashboard that highlights the airlines that guarantee fee-free family seating and those that don't. Four airlines have stepped forward to guarantee fee-free family seating.

Flight Operations

The 647,205 flights operated in August 2024 were 102.61% of the 630,761 flights operated in August 2023. Operated flights in August 2024 were up 2.61% year-over-year from the 630,761 flights operated in August 2023 and down 1.53% month-over-month from 657,233 flights operated in July 2024.

Line chart showing U.S. airlines operated domestic flights in August 2022 through August 2024

In August 2024, the 10 marketing network carriers reported 660,639 scheduled domestic flights, 13,434 (2.0%) of which were cancelled. In July 2024, airlines scheduled 676,807 domestic flights, 19,574 (2.9%) of which were cancelled. In August 2023, airlines scheduled 640,236 domestic flights, 9,475 (1.5%) of which were cancelled.

August 2024 On-Time Arrival

In August 2024, reporting marketing carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 74.9%, up from 68.4% in July 2024 and down from 77.2% in August 2023. The year-to-date on-time arrival rate for 2024 is 75.5%.

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

Hawaiian Airlines – 86.8%
Delta Air Lines Network – 78.9%
Southwest Airlines – 78.8%

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

JetBlue Airways – 60.7%
Frontier Airlines – 65.2%
Spirit Airlines – 67.1%

August 2024 Flight Cancellations

In August 2024, reporting marketing carriers cancelled 2.0% of their scheduled domestic flights, lower than the rate of 2.9% in July 2024 and higher than the rate of 1.5% in August 2023. The year-to-date cancellation rate for 2024 is 1.7%.

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

Southwest Airlines – 0.9%
Alaska Airlines Network – 0.9%
Hawaiian Airlines – 1.5%

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

JetBlue Airways – 4.5%
Spirit Airlines – 4.0%
Frontier Airlines – 3.3%

Complaints About Airline Service

Last month, DOT released data on the submissions (complaints, inquiries, and opinions) it received from consumers about air travel for January-May 2024.

The release of the submissions data in the ATCR continues to be delayed primarily because of the tens of thousands of complaints received 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.

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 August 2024, airlines reported 99 tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights, compared to 72 tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights reported in July 2024. In August 2024, airlines reported 29 tarmac delays of more than four hours on an international flight, compared to three tarmac delay of more than four hours on international flights reported in July 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.

Many of the long tarmac delays were related to severe weather on the East Coast in early August. The Department investigates all extended tarmac delays.

Mishandled Baggage

In August 2024, reporting marketing carriers handled 42.5 million bags and posted a mishandled baggage rate of 0.64%, lower than the rate of 0.75% in July 2024, and higher than the rate of 0.61% in August 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 August 2024, reporting marketing carriers reported checking 79,385 wheelchairs and scooters and mishandling 1,004 for a rate of 1.26% mishandled wheelchairs and scooters, lower than the rate of 1.35% mishandled in July 2024 and lower than the rate of 1.52% mishandled in August 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.

Bumping/Oversales

Bumping/oversales data, unlike other air carrier data, are reported quarterly rather than monthly.
For the second quarter of 2024, the 10 U.S. reporting marketing carriers posted an involuntary denied boarding, or bumping, rate of 0.33 per 10,000 passengers, lower than the rate of 0.36 in the second quarter of 2023 and higher than the rate of 0.20 in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Incidents Involving Animals

In August 2024, carriers reported two incidents involving the death, injury, or loss of an animal while traveling by air, lower than the three reports filed in July 2024, but higher than the zero reports filed in August 2023. August's incidents involved the death of one animal and injury to one other animal.

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 continues to collect and publish monthly reports on animal incidents from covered carriers but has permitted carriers to delay submission of the annual report on the total number of animals transported and the total number of incidents involving animals during air transport. Annual data on such incidents will be published when DOT receives carriers' complete submissions of the 2023 data.

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

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, DOT has advanced the largest expansion of airline passenger rights, issued the biggest fines against airlines for failing consumers, and secured returns of more money to passengers in refunds and reimbursements than ever before in the Department's history.  

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 2022, under Secretary Buttigieg's guidance, DOT created an Airline Customer Service Dashboard known as FlightRights.gov to help airline passengers understand what they are entitled to receive when a delay or cancellation was within the airlines' control and create standards that the Department can enforce. Now all 10 major U.S. airlines guarantee free rebooking and meals, and nine guarantee hotel accommodations when an airline issue causes a significant delay or cancellation. These are new commitments the airlines added to their customer service plans that DOT can legally ensure they adhere to and are displayed on flightrights.gov.

Since President Biden took office, DOT has helped oversee the return of almost $4 billion in refunds and reimbursements owed to airline passengers – including more than $600 million to passengers affected by the Southwest Airlines holiday meltdown in 2022.

Under Secretary Buttigieg, DOT has issued more than $166 million in penalties against airlines for consumer protection violations. Between 1996 and 2020, DOT collectively issued less than $71 million in penalties against airlines for consumer protection violations.

DOT launched a new partnership with a bipartisan group of state attorneys general to fast-track the review of consumer complaints, hold airlines accountable, and protect the rights of the traveling public.

In 2023, the flight cancellation rate in the U.S. was a record low at under 1.2% – the lowest rate of flight cancellations in over 10 years despite a record amount of air travel.

DOT is undertaking its first ever industry-wide review of airline privacy practices and its first review of airline loyalty programs.

In addition to finalizing the rules to require automatic refunds and protect consumers from surprise fees, DOT has:

Proposed to ban family seating junk fees and guarantee that parents can sit with their children for no extra charge when they fly. We encourage members of the public and interested parties to submit comments by October 8, 2024. Before President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg pressed airlines last year, no airline committed to guaranteeing fee-free family seating. Now, four airlines guarantee fee-free family seating, as the Department is working on its family seating junk fee ban proposal.

Initiated a rulemaking to address passenger compensation and amenities so that travelers are taken care of when airlines cause flight delays or cancellations.

Proposed to expand the rights for passengers who use wheelchairs and ensure that they can travel safely and with dignity. The Department is actively working on a final rule now.

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. 

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