Consumer Complaints Against Airlines Soar

Consumer complaints filed against the nation’s airlines rose 88% in June from the same month last year, the government said, driven by teeming airports, packed flights and new Internet sites that make it easier to gripe about them.

Consumers have complained in record numbers ever since the Department of Transportation put its monthly air-travel consumer report online in March, travel groups and carriers said.

Through the agency’s Web site and those of several consumer groups, such as https://www.passengerrights.com, travelers can file grievances instantly--and save the postage.

The Transportation Department said it received 1,332 complaints this June, up from 709 in June 1998.

“There’s no question about it. We saw less complaints when it was harder for consumers to do,” said David Stempler, president of Air Travelers Assn., a Washington passenger-rights advocacy group.

AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, the world’s second-largest airline, had the worst record for on-time departures and got the most passenger complaints of any major U.S. carrier in June, the Department of Transportation said.

About 65% of American’s flights were on time, ranking it last among the 10 largest carriers for a third straight month. Overall, 70.9% of flights among the Top 10 U.S. carriers were on time in June.

The department received 228 complaints about American, nearly half related to delays and other flight problems.

Southwest Airlines Co. provoked the least consumer ire, receiving just 0.29 complaints per 100,000 travelers, compared with 3.21 complaints for American.

American listed bad weather, fallout from a pilot sickout in February and air-traffic problems among the reasons for its sub-par results.

“We’re not happy any time we don’t do well or when our complaints are not in line with our competitors,” airline spokesman Tim Smith said. “We’re working hard on what we can control.”

American has started a program designed to make sure the first flights each day leave on time and expects to move up to third or fourth for timely departures in the July report, he said.