November Airline Consumer 2013 Complaints Down From Previous Year DOT says
- Written by News Desk
Airline consumer complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division during November were down 23.6 percent from November 2012 and down 11.9 percent from October 2013, according to the DOT’s Air Travel Consumer Report released today.
The Department received 755 complaints in November 2013, down from both the 988 complaints filed in November 2012 and the 857 received in October 2013.
The consumer report includes data on on-time performance, 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 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.
The report contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in November against airlines regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 52 disability-related complaints in November, down from the total of 56 complaints filed in November 2012, but up from the 49 complaints received in October 2013.
In November, the Department received five complaints alleging discrimination by airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion, national origin, or sex – down from both the total of seven recorded in November 2012 and the eight recorded in October 2013.
Consumers may file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590; by voice mail at (202) 366-2220 or by TTY at (202) 366-0511; or on the web at www.dot.gov/airconsumer.
The Air Travel Consumer Report is available in PDF format.
