BTS 47-13 BTS Releases August Passenger Airline Employment Data; | |||||||||||||||||
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BTS 46-13 BTS Releases July 2013 U.S. Airline Traffic Data; System Passengers Unchanged from July 2012The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that U.S. airlines carried 69.2 million systemwide (domestic + international) scheduled service passengers in July 2013, the same as in July 2012. The systemwide total was the result of a 0.7 percent decrease in the number of domestic passengers (59.3 million) and a 4.3 percent increase in international passengers (9.9 million).
BTS, a part of the Department’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that U.S. airlines carried 0.4 percent more total systemwide passengers during the first seven months of 2013 (435.0 million) than during the same period in 2012. Domestically, U.S. airlines carried 377.2 million passengers, 0.1 percent more than 2012. Internationally, they carried 57.8 million passengers, up 2.7 percent from 2012. See Tables 2, 8 and 14 of Air Traffic Press Releases for previous-year data. The July 2013 international load factor of 86.9 percent was a record high for the month of July as year-over-year growth in revenue passenger-miles exceeded international capacity expansion. Systemwide and domestic load factors remained below the all-time July highs reached in 2011. Load factor is a measure of the use of aircraft capacity that compares Revenue Passenger-Miles (RPMs) as a proportion of Available Seat-Miles (ASMs). Top Airlines In July, Delta Air Lines carried more systemwide passengers than any other U.S. airline. Southwest Airlines carried the most domestic passengers while United Airlines carried the most international passengers. The top 10 U.S. airlines in terms of number of passengers carried 80.5 percent of systemwide passengers, up from 80.2 percent carried by the U.S. airlines that were in the top 10 in July 2012. See Air Traffic Release for summary tables and additional data. Additional traffic data can be found on the BTS Airlines and Airports page. Click on a link in the Quick Links box on the right. For more historical data, see Traffic on the BTS website. ###
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DOT 87-13 United Fined for Lengthy O’Hare Tarmac Delays in July 2012 WASHINGTON - The U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined United Airlines $1.1 million for lengthy tarmac delays that took place at Chicago-O’Hare International Airport on July 13, 2012. The airline was ordered to cease and desist from future violations of the tarmac-delay rule. This is the largest fine assessed for a tarmac-delay violation since the rule limiting long tarmac delays first took effect in April 2010. Of the $1.1 million, United will pay the United States $475,000; the remainder covers mitigation measures for affected passengers and significant corrective actions by United to enhance future compliance with tarmac delay requirements. “It is unacceptable for passengers to be stranded in planes on the tarmac for hours on end,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We will continue to require airlines to adopt workable plans to protect passengers from lengthy tarmac delays and carry out these plans when necessary.” United is being fined for 13 lengthy tarmac delays that took place on a day when severe thunderstorms and lightning caused several ramp closures and disrupted the movement of aircraft at O’Hare. Delays by United and its United Express code-share affiliates exceeded the three-hour limit for tarmac delays by as little as two minutes and as much as 77 minutes. Although United had a contingency plan for tarmac delays, DOT’s Aviation Enforcement Office found that the airline did not implement the plan during these delays, and that the plan was inadequate to cover foreseeable weather emergencies in which there were more planes on the ground than space at gates. The Enforcement Office also found that United did not contact airport personnel or other airlines for assistance during the tarmac delays. Additionally, on two United Express flights, the lavatories were inoperable during part of the delays. Under DOT rules, U.S. airlines operating aircraft with 30 or more passenger seats are prohibited from allowing their domestic flights to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours at U.S. airports without giving passengers an opportunity to leave the plane. Exceptions to the time limits are allowed only for safety, security or air traffic control-related reasons. The rules also require airlines to provide adequate food and water, ensure that lavatories are working and, if necessary, provide medical attention to passengers during long tarmac delays. The consent order is available on the Internet at www.regulations.gov, DOT-OST-2013-0004. -end-
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DOT 86-13 Airline On-Time Performance in August Down From Previous Year, Up From JulyWASHINGTON – The nation’s largest airlines posted an on-time arrival rate of 78.8 percent in August, down from the 79.1 percent on-time rate from August 2012, but up from the 73.1 percent mark from July 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report released today.
Airlines also reported two tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights and no tarmac delays of more than four hours on international flights in August. Both of the reported tarmac delays involved flights scheduled to arrive in Denver, Colo. on Aug. 3 that were diverted due to storms. Both delays are under investigation by the Department.
The larger U.S. airlines have been required to file complete reports on their long tarmac delays for domestic flights since October 2008. Under a rule that took effect Aug. 23, 2011, all U.S. and foreign airlines operating at least one aircraft with 30 or more passenger seats must report lengthy tarmac delays at U.S. airports.
Also beginning Aug. 23, 2011, carriers operating international flights may not allow tarmac delays at U.S. airports to last longer than four hours without giving passengers an opportunity to deplane. There is a separate three-hour limit on tarmac delays involving domestic flights, which went into effect in April 2010. Exceptions to the time limits for both domestic and international flights are allowed only for safety, security, or air traffic control-related reasons. Severe weather could cause or exacerbate such situations.
The consumer report also includes data on cancellations, chronically delayed flights, and the causes of flight delays filed with the Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by the reporting carriers. In addition, the consumer report contains information on mishandled baggage reports filed by consumers with the carriers, and consumer service, disability, and discrimination complaints received by DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division. The consumer report also includes reports of incidents involving the loss, death, or injury of pets traveling by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers. A news release on the Air Travel Consumer Report is available at http://www.dot.gov/briefing-room/airline-time-performance-august-down-previous-year-july. The full consumer report is available at www.dot.gov/individuals/air-consumer/air-travel-consumer-reports. Detailed information on flight delays is available at www.bts.gov.
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DOT 85-13 DOT Fines Ticket Agents for Code-Share Disclosure Violations WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined two ticket agents for violating the Department’s rules on disclosure of code-share flights. DOT issued a $125,000 fine against Carlson Wagonlit Travel and a $65,000 fine against Frosch International Travel, and both companies were ordered to cease and desist from further violations. The amount of the fines was based on the specific circumstances of the individual cases. Today’s consent orders are part of an ongoing effort by DOT to ensure that ticket agents comply with the code-share disclosure rules. “No one wants to arrive to their gate and learn for the first time that the airline they thought was operating their flight actually sold them a ticket for another airline,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We will continue to make sure that all companies selling air transportation are transparent with consumers and will take enforcement action when they fail to disclose code-sharing arrangements.” Under code-sharing, an airline sells seats on flights using its designator code, but the flights are operated by a separate airline. In this case, DOT’s Aviation Enforcement Office made telephone calls to a number of agents during January and February of 2013 and inquired about booking certain flights. During these calls, the reservations agents for both companies failed to disclose that the flights were being operated under code-share arrangements. The agents identified only the name of the airline marketing the flight and not the name of airline operating the flight. This violated DOT rules requiring airlines and ticket agents to inform consumers if a flight is operated under a code-share arrangement, as well as disclose the corporate name of the transporting airline and any other name under which the flight is offered to the public. DOT takes enforcement action when necessary against companies that sell air transportation based on consumer complaints and the Department’s own internal investigations. DOT has now issued six fines for code-sharing violations this year, totaling $430,000. The consent orders are available at www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2013-0004. ###
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