DOT Releases Air Travel Consumer Report
The report includes data on on-time performance, cancellations, causes of flight delays, and more.
The Department of Transportation recently released a report regarding March 2014 air travel in the United States. DOT's Air Travel Consumer Report shares, among other things, that March airline on-time performance was down from March 2013 but improved on February 2014 performance. In addition, airlines reported no tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights and one tarmac delay of more than four hours on an international flight. The country's largest airlines contributed to the report.
The consumer report includes data on chronically delayed flights, cancellations, the cause of delayed flights, death of pets traveling by air and more:
- The reporting airline carriers canceled 1.9 percent of their scheduled domestic flights in March 2014 (compared to 1.6 percent in March 2013 and 5.5 percent in February 2014).
- 5.7 percent of the airlines' flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 6.92 percent in February 2014; 8.09 percent were delayed by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 9.09 percent in February.
- The airlines reported a mishandled baggage rate of 3.68 reports per 1,000 passengers in March, compared to rates of 3.03 in March 2013 and 4.21 in February 2014.
- In March 2014, the airlines report four incidents resulting in the loss, death, or injury of pets traveling by air. Three pets died and one was injured.
- Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Virgin America had the highest on-time arrival rates, while ExpressJet Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and American Eagle Airlines had the lowest on-time arrival rates.
- ExpressJet Airlines, American Eagle Airlines, and SkyWest Airlines had the highest rates of canceled flights, while Hawaiian Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and Delta Airlines had the lowest rates of canceled flights.