According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the 19 carriers reporting on-time performance recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 75.7 percent in July, higher than both July 2007’s 69.8 percent and June 2008’s 70.8 percent.

The monthly report also includes data on flight cancellations and the causes of flight delays, as well as information on reports of mishandled baggage filed with the carriers and consumer service, disability and discrimination complaints received by DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division. This report also includes reports of incidents involving pets traveling by air, as required to be filed by U.S. carriers.

Cancellations

The consumer report includes BTS data on the number of domestic flights canceled by the reporting carriers. In July, the carriers canceled 1.7 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, lower than both the 2.1 percent cancellation rate of July 2007 and the 1.8 percent rate posted in June 2008.

Causes of Flight Delays

In July, the carriers filing on-time performance data reported that 7.78 percent of their flights were delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 10.16 percent in June; 7.17 percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 8.86 percent in June; 6.30 percent by factors within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared to 6.78 percent in June; 1.01 percent by extreme weather, compared to 1.14 percent in June; and 0.05 percent for security reasons, the same percentage as June. Weather is a factor in both the extreme-weather category and the aviation-system category. This includes delays due to the re-routing of flights by DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration in consultation with the carriers involved.
Weather is also a factor in delays attributed to late-arriving aircraft, although airlines do not report specific causes in that category.

Data collected by BTS also shows the percentage of late flights delayed by weather, including those reported in either the category of extreme weather or included in National Aviation System delays. In July, 44.37 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, up 2.83 percent from July 2007, when 43.15 percent of late flights were delayed by weather, and down 6.02 percent from June when 47.21 percent of late flights were delayed by weather.

Mishandled Baggage

The U.S. carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a mishandled baggage rate of 4.86 reports per 1,000 passengers in July, an improvement over both July 2007’s rate of 7.96 and June 2008’s 5.15 rate.

Incidents Involving Pets

In July, carriers reported six incidents involving pets while traveling by air, up from five incidents in June. The July incidents involved four deaths, one injury and one lost pet.

Complaints About Airline Service

In July, the department received 1,093 complaints about airline service from consumers, down 36.4 percent from the 1,720 complaints filed in July 2007 but 24.1 percent more than the total of 881 received in June 2008.

Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers

The report also contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in July against specific airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 65 disability-related complaints in July, up 38.3 percent from the 47 filed in July 2007 and more than double the 27 complaints received in June 2008.

Complaints About Discrimination

In July, the Department received nine complaints alleging discrimination by airlines due to factors other than disability - such as race, religion, national origin or sex - down from the total of 15 complaints received in July 2007 but up from the total of eight received in June 2008.