May 2016 Complaints, Cancellations Down and On-Time Performance Up From Previous Year

WASHINGTON – In May, the U.S. Department of Transportation received 1,134 complaints about airline service from consumers, down 24.0 percent from the total of 1,492 filed in May 2015, but slightly up 1.07 percent from the 1,122 received in April 2016, according to the Air Travel Consumer Report released today.

The reporting carriers canceled 0.5 percent of their scheduled domestic flights in May 2016, an improvement over both the 1.1 percent cancellation rate posted in May 2015 and the 0.9 percent rate in April 2016. The May cancellation rate of 0.5 percent was the third lowest on record, with only September and October 2015 having a lower percentage of canceled flights.

The reporting carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 83.4 percent in May 2016, up from the 80.5 percent on-time rate in May 2015, but down from the 84.5 percent mark in April 2016.

The consumer report also includes data on tarmac delays, chronically delayed flights, and the causes of flight delays filed with the Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) by the reporting carriers. The report also includes statistics on mishandled baggage reports filed by consumers with the reporting carriers, data on oversales, and information about the total number of animals that died, were injured, or were lost during air transport in May, as filed by the air carriers with the Aviation Consumer Protection Division.

Consumers may file air travel service complaints on the web at www.transportation.gov/airconsumer. This news release is available at https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/may-2016-complaints-cancellations-down-and-time-performance-previous-year. The full consumer report is available at www.transportation.gov/individuals/air-consumer/air-travel-consumer-reports. Detailed information on flight delays is available at www.bts.gov.

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