Complaints against airlines drop more than 20% in June

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

The number and rate of complaints against U.S. airlines dropped by more than 20% in June, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

During that month, the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division received 935 complaints against U.S. airlines, down from 1,238 complaints in the same month last year, a drop of 24%.

When the total number of complaints is compared with the number of passengers flying in June, the rate of complaints dropped to 1.30 complaints every 100,000 passenger trips in June 2011 from 1.67 complaints in June 2010. That is a drop of 22%.

A Department of Transportation report released Tuesday shows that the biggest drop in complaints were on problems involving airline cancellations, misconnections, baggage, reservations, ticketing and boarding.

Steve Lott, a spokesman for the Air Transport Assn., the trade group for the nation’s largest airlines, attributes the drop in complaints on improved efforts by air carriers to keep planes on schedule and deliver luggage on time.

‘Many airlines continue to invest significant time and resources in improved baggage-handling processes and systems,’ he said.

Among the nation’s largest airlines, Alaska Airlines had the lowest rate of complaints in June, with .25 complaints for every 100,000 passenger trips, according to the Department of Transportation Report. American Eagle Airlines had the highest rate of complaints, 2.61 complaints for every 100,000 passenger trips.

Hugo Martin

(Photo: Passengers prepare to take off on a flight from Chicago to Cleveland. Credit: Chicago Tribune.)