DOT ISSUES 2022 AIR TRAVEL CONSUMER REPORT
April 17, 2023
On March 16, 2023, DOT released its Air Travel Consumer Report on airline operational data including on-time performance, mishandled baggage, and mishandled wheelchairs and scooters for December 2022 and the full calendar year 2022. A brief summary of the report is included below.
Operated Flights:
In December 2022, operated flights were down compared to the year prior, and airlines operated about 81% of the flights they operated during the same time in pre-pandemic December 2019.
On-time Arrival Rates:
For December 2022, the on-time arrival rate for reporting marketing carriers dropped to 69% from 80% in November 2022, and nearly 78% in December 2019. Carriers reporting the best on-time rates for December 2022 included Delta, American, and United, while the carriers with the worst on-time rates for this period included Frontier, Allegiant, and Hawaiian.
Flight Cancellations:
Flight cancellation rates increased for both December 2022 and the full calendar year 2022 for reporting marketing carriers. The carriers with the highest cancellation rates included Alaska Airlines and Allegiant, but the largest share of the cancellations was attributable to Southwest, which suffered technical and operational issues resulting in over 16,000 cancelled flights during this period. Carriers reporting the lowest cancellations rates during this time included American, JetBlue, and Delta.
Airline Service Complaints:
DOT reported a “high volume” of air travel service-related complaints against airlines and ticket agents in December 2022. DOT noted that its issuance of the full consumer complaint report has been delayed due to the high number of complaints it received, which it still needs to review and process. DOT expects the 2022 report on consumer complaints to be available in early April 2023, here.
Tarmac Delays:
In December 2022, U.S. airlines reported 79 tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights, an increase compared to just 8 tarmac delays reported in November 2022. In contrast, airlines reported 3 tarmac delays of more than four hours on international flights, down from the 5 tarmac delays reported in November 2022. For the full calendar year 2022, airlines reported 376 tarmac delays for domestic flights, and 21 tarmac delays for international flights, both increases from the 155 domestic flight tarmac delays, and 9 international flight tarmac delays reported in calendar year 2021.
Mishandled Baggage, Wheelchairs, and Scooters:
In December 2022, carriers reported handling nearly 40 million bags and posted a mishandled baggage rate of 1.09%, an increase from the 0.51% rate reported in November 2022, and the 0.66% rate reported in pre-pandemic December 2019. Of the industry-wide 1.09% mishandling rate reported in December 2022, 26.68% of the mishandlings were attributed to Southwest. The mishandled baggage rate also increased for the full calendar year 2022, to 0.64%.
For mishandled wheelchairs and scooters, carriers reported checking 62,086 wheelchairs and scooters of which 1.62% were mishandled, an increase from the 1.48% rate reported in November 2022 and the 1.53% rate reported in pre-pandemic December 2019. For calendar year 2022, the reported mishandled wheelchair and scooter rate was equal to the 2019 rate of 1.54%.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).
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