Consumer Complaints Against U.S. Airlines Climb in December
by Michele McDonaldIn a month of epic weather events, consumer complaints about U.S. airlines soared to 1,203 in December, up from 747 in December 2014, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
For the year, there were 15,260 complaints, up from 11,365 in 2014.
The most common reason for both the month and the year was flight operations—delays, cancellations and misconnections—followed by mishandled baggage.
Hawaiian Airlines had the fewest complaints per 100,000 enplanements in December (0.34), while Spirit had the most (10.97). For the year, Alaska had the fewest per 100,000 enplanements, with 0.5, and Spirit had the most, with 11.73.
In 2015, 353 complaints were filed against travel agencies, primarily online agencies. Expedia.com garnered the most, with 54, followed by Priceline, with 47. They are the two largest online agencies in the U.S.
Hawaiian Airlines turned in a 93% on-time performance in December, ranking as the most punctual U.S. airline both for the month and the full year. It has an edge, of course, operating in a part of the world that seldom has to deal with weather issues.
Alaska Airlines maintained its No. 2 position for the month and the year.
Delta, at No. 3, was the top-performing network carrier, arriving on time 83.6% of the time for the month and 85.9% for the year.
Envoy Air, which operates as American Eagle, recovered from its woes earlier in the year, when it was beset by severe storms. With an 80.4% on-time performance in December, it ranked fourth on the list, edging out American Airlines, its owner, at 79.2%.
Envoy ranked No. 11 for the full year, with an on-time performance of 74.9%.
Spirit Airlines occupied the unlucky No. 13 spot at the bottom of the list, with a 69% on-time performance for the year and 68.4% in December.
The wretched weather and flooding that plagued the week after Christmas caused 11 tarmac delays of more than three hours. Four of them were incurred by American, and nine occurred at diversion airports.
In 2015, Virgin America scored the best baggage handling record, with 0.85 reports per 1,000 passengers.
Among the largest carriers, Delta had the best record, with 2.08. Envoy Air occupied the bottom of the list, with 8.52.