The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today released its February 2018″Air Travel Consumer Report»on air carrier data compiled for the month of December 2017 and calendar year 2017. In 2017, the carriers posted a bumping rate of 0.34 per 10,000 passengers, the lowest annual rate based on historical data dating back to 1995. The previous low was 0.62 in 2016. These carriers posted a bumping rate of 0.18 per 10,000 passengers for the fourth quarter of 2017, an improvement over the 0.55 rate for the fourth quarter of 2016.
Oversales data, unlike other air carrier data, are reported quarterly rather than monthly. See the FebruaryAir Travel Consumer Report https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/air-travel-consumer-reportsfor denied boarding numbers by airline.
In 2017, the U.S. carriers reporting mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 2.46 per 1,000 passengers, an improvement over 2016s rate of 2.70. The carriers posted a mishandled baggage rate of 3.15 reports per 1,000 passengers in December, an improvement over December 2016s rate of 3.58, but up from November 2017s rate of 1.83.
The consumer report also includes data on on-time performance, cancellations, tarmac delays, chronically delayed flights, and the causes of flight delays filed with the Departments Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by the reporting carriers.In addition, the consumer report contains a record of aviation service complaints filed with DOTs Aviation Consumer Protection Division by consumers regarding a range of issues including flight problems, baggage, reservation and ticketing, refunds, customer service, disability access, and discrimination. The report also includes information about the total number of animals that died, were injured, or were lost during air transport in December 2017 and calendar year 2017, as filed by the air carriers with the Aviation Consumer Protection Division.
DOT has launched its redesigned airline consumer website to make it easy for travelers to understand their rights. The full consumer report and other aviation consumer matters of interest to the public can be found at http://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.
*On-Time Performance*
In December, the reporting carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 80.3 percent, up from the 75.6 percent on-time rate in December 2016, but down from the 88.3 percent mark in November 2017. For the full year 2017, the reporting carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 80.2 percent, down from 81.4 percent in 2016.
*Cancellations*
In December, the reporting carriers canceled 1.2 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, an improvement over the 1.6 percent cancellation rate posted in December 2016, but up from the 0.3 percent rate in November 2017. For the full year 2017, the reporting carriers canceled 1.5 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, up from 1.2 percent in 2016…
