While U.S. airlines are improving their on-time performance, more passengers are filing complaints against carriers, according to new rankings from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Hawaiian Airlines and Delta Air Lines topped the on-time rankings for November 2015, released this month. The federal government considers a flight on time if it arrives within 14 minutes of its scheduled arrival time. Hawaiian arrived on time 93.9 percent of the time, while Delta landed on schedule 89.5 percent of the time.
Budget airlines Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines had the worst on-time performances, arriving on time 75.3 percent and 74 percent of the time, respectively, and also had the highest complaint rates.
Overall, flights with the 13 largest airlines arrived on time 83.7 percent of the time, up from 80.6 percent in November 2014 but down from October 2015’s rate of 87 percent.
Passengers on five domestic flights experienced a delay on the ground for more than three hours in November 2015, and on a Qatar Airways’ flight from Detroit (DTW), travelers sat on the plane for more than six hours. All incidents are in possible violation of federal rules.
Though U.S. airlines generally performed better during the time period, complaints rose 56 percent from a year earlier against U.S. carriers and 14 percent against foreign airlines. However, 989 people took the time to file a report with the government. More people — 1,272 — complained about Transportation Security Administration screeners than about the airlines.
In your travels, which airline have you found to have the best on-time performance? The worst? Do you have any complaints about carriers and/or TSA screeners? Email us. Please include your full name and location with your email.
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