Stranded and Struggling

U.S. Airlines face increasing delays, record complaints

By CAITRIONA MARIA

Wealth of Geeks

Amid employee strikes, manufacturer controversies, service outages, and President Joe Biden’s crackdown on industry policies, American air travel is having its most tumultuous year since 2020. The United States Department of Transportation’s (DOT) latest report found 2 percent of August _ights were canceled, surpassing their year-to-date cancellation rate of 1.7 percent.

As complications continue to frustrate millions and travelers le complaints with the DOT in record numbers, airlines are pushing back on the Biden administration’s calls for stronger consumer protections.

Traveler troubles

Cash refunds and carrier nes ease some worries. Still, consumers’ concerns span countless categories – punctuality, destruction of property, and tech problems, among others.

Delays and cancellations

The DOT says _ights are “on time” when landing and leaving within 15 minutes of the original schedule. But their latest ndings say airlines reported nearly 100 domestic _ight delays wherein passengers sat on tarmacs for three or more hours – 22 more than in July. Airlines reported 29 international ght delays of four or more hours, a sharp increase from just three last month.

Nine in 10 major US airlines reported fewer on-time arrivals, according to the DOT. Hawaiian Airlines is the timeliest U.S. airline, with almost 87 percent of _ights arriving on schedule. While good news for Hawaiian Airlines loyalists, the brand services the fewest airports of all airlines in the top 10. Delta Air Lines Network came in at No. 2, with 78.9 percent of _ights arriving on time.

JetBlue reported the most delays, with just 60.7 percent of their _ights landing on time. Frontier Airlines and Spirit Airlines follow closely behind, with 65.2 percent and 67.1 percent of on-time arrivals, respectively.

Customers looking to avoid such difculties might consider Southwest Airlines, which has the lowest cancellation rate of any U.S. air carrier at 0.9 percent. JetBlue passengers are most likely to see _ights canceled, followed by Frontier Airlines customers. Frontier Airlines notably made headlines in August when it canceled a Dallas-bound _ight after its pilots’ Houston airport arrest.

A domino effect often delays _ights. Once an aircraft arrives late to its destination, its next scheduled _ight will also suffer a delay. These late arrivals cause 8.51 percent of delays. Other reported causes include systems issues and security complications. Extreme weather conditions contributed to only 0.92 percent of reported delays.

Tech issues

On July 19, a global technology outage stranded passengers worldwide after a software update crashed most airline systems. Among the hardest hit was Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, which canceled 6,500 _ights after failing to recover from the system outage. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced in a press conference that the U.S. government is investigating Delta’s “breakdown of operations” and failed crisis response.

“I’m hearing a lot of things I’m very concerned about,” Buttigieg told reporters, “including people being on hold for hours and hours trying to get a new _ight, people having to sleep on airport _oors. Even accounts of unaccompanied minors being stranded in airports, unable to get on a _ight.”

Mishandled mobility devices and luggage

Other logistical headaches also plague American travelers. In August 2024, airlines mishandled 0.64 percent of baggage, higher than the 0.61 percent of mishandled luggage reported in August 2023.

Air carriers mishandled 1.26 percent of scooters and wheelchairs in August 2024, fewer than the 1.52 percent similarly mishandled one year prior.

American Airlines reported a 22 percent improvement in its handling of mobility aids. Additionally, the airline announced its latest attempt to simplify equipment handling, launching mobility device tag printers in lobbies. Consumers can print labels for mobility aids similar to how many _yers already print bag tags.

Oversales

Even if a plane departs on schedule, passengers are not always guaranteed a seat. Many airlines overbook, selling more tickets than seats available to compensate for potential no-shows.

The International Air Transport Association alleges overselling is a strategy that “creates more choice and cheaper fares for consumers.”

However, airlines “bumped” more than 165,000 travelers in the rst half of 2024, denying entry even when they held a ticket for that _ight. Most chose compensation in exchange for their seat, but carriers involuntarily bumped around 13,300 passengers.

If not enough travelers offer to give up their seats, airlines have the legal right to bump passengers.

Travelers file unprecedented number of complaints

As industries continue to recover from COVID-19, the air travel industry nally approaches pre-pandemic passenger levels. More than 1.04 billion passengers traveled on _ights within U.S. airspace in 2023, averaging 2.86 million daily – an 81.09 percent annual increase.

Although airlines might appreciate the revenue growth, more passengers means a higher likelihood of consumer complaints. The DOT’s 2023 Annual Consumer Submission Data reports passengers led nearly 97,000 complaints in the past year, an almost 13 percent increase from 2022. While foreign airlines reduced their share of complaints by 2.9 percent, U.S. carriers’ increased 28.7 percent. Travelers lodged around 67,000 complaints against domestic airlines, while nearly 70 percent of all grievances were with the DOT.

Complaints regarding civil rights violations rose 28 percent in 2023, with almost 3,000 total submissions. Most regard disability rights, while more than 200 complaints detail incidents of discrimination due to the passenger’s race or country of origin.

More complaints, more solutions?

According to the DOT, last year’s increase in complaints re_ects consumers increasingly familiarizing themselves with their rights. Passengers on U.S. air carriers can read their rights at _ightrights.gov and le complaints online or by mail with the DOT.

Travelers United is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprot and aviation consumer advocacy group. Charlie Leocha, president of Travelers United, strongly recommends passengers raise concerns and le complaints with the DOT when necessary.

“There is no requirement to complain to [the] DOT,” Leocha explains. “But when travelers want change and a solution to their problem, [the] DOT complaints get action.”

This article was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.

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