The Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division reported complaints during 2015 were up by 29.8 percent from 2014, for a total of 20,170 complaints. The sharp increase was most strongly felt in December 2015, when overall complaints rose 46.9 percent from the previous December. Complaints covered a myriad of issues, from baggage problems to customer service to discrimination. The DOT released these complaint statistics along with data compiled regarding on-time performance, cancelations and delays from various carriers, as well as data concerning animals harmed, sometimes fatally, or lost during air transport.

On-time performance as reported was at 79.9 percent overall in 2015, up from 76.2 percent in 2014. Regarding cancelations, domestic carriers as a whole canceled 1.5 percent of their domestic flights for the year. The data showed 61 domestic tarmac delays of three hours or more, and 15 international tarmac delays of four hours or more. All delays were investigated by the DOT. Delays were attributed to aviation system issues, late-arriving aircraft, maintenance and crew problems, and inclement weather.

Airlines with the highest on-time arrival rates for the year included Hawaiian Airlines (93 percent), Alaska Airlines (85.3 percent) and Delta Air Lines (83.6 percent). Airlines with the lowest on-time arrival rates were Spirit Airlines (68.7 percent), JetBlue Airways (70.1 percent) and Virgin America (71.1 percent). The highest rates of canceled flights were attributed to Envoy Air (3.8 percent), ExpressJet Airlines (3.4 percent) and SkyWest Airlines (2.9 percent). Lowest rates of canceled flights were awarded to Hawaiian Airlines (0.1 percent), Delta Air Lines (0.3 percent) and JetBlue Airways (0.3 percent).

In the months of November and December 2015 alone, reporting carriers admitted to 10 incidents of injury, death or loss of a traveling animal. The totals for the year included the death of 35 traveling animals, the injury of 25 and the loss of three, making the total number of incidents for the year 18 more than in 2014.

For the year, the DOT received 65 discrimination complaints for factors other than disability, including race, religion, nationality and gender. This was down 4.4 percent from the 2014 number of 68 discrimination complaints.

Have you ever filed a complaint with the Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division? Do you feel complaints were up in 2015 for good reason? Email us and let us know! Please include your full name and location with your email.