Global Courant 2023-04-27 00:43:45
Frontier Airlines saw the highest number of passenger complaints among U.S. airlines in 2022, a year that became one of the most disruptive for flyers on record.
The Denver-based company recorded more than 20 complaints for every 100,000 passengers who boarded the plane, according to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics published earlier this month. That is comparable to a national average of about six passenger complaints per 100,000.
A Frontier representative did not respond to a request for comment.
The combination of a post-pandemic boom in air travel demand and reduced staffing levels due to pandemic-fuelled layoffs and retirements led to a series of delays and cancellations in 2022. The year ended with the closure of Southwest Airlines in late December. flight schedule amid severe winter storm and system outage.
The total number of passenger complaints has soared between 2021 and 2022, from 49,991 to 77,656 – with the number of complaints about US airlines more than doubling in that year, from 20,365 to 47,591.
“Air travel is just a mess right now,” Teresa Murray of Consumer Watchdog at the nonprofit US PIRG Education Fund said in a statement. accompanying writing. Murray is also the author of a report on last year airline issues.
“Our analysis shows that the ratio of complaints to passengers was more than five times higher in 2022 than in 2019,” said Murray.
“Airlines often post unrealistic schedules, they cancel flights, and they drag their feet with refunds. Airlines and online ticket agents just don’t face the consequences enough when they abuse customers.”
Seattle-based Horizon Air had the lowest complaint rate, just 1.09; followed by Utah-based SkyWest Airlines at 1.37 and Phoenix-based Mesa Airlines at 1.74. Among the largest airlines, Delta had the lowest complaint rate at 2.66, while Southwest Airlines had the highest at 6.75.
PIRG found that consumers will have filed more complaints against U.S. airlines in 2022 than any year in at least a quarter of a century. The 77,656 complaints filed by consumers in 2022 were the second highest after 2020 — but that year, most of the 102,550 complaints were against foreign airlines, it turned out.
The 47,591 complaints consumers filed against U.S. airlines last year surpassed any year since 1997, PIRG said.
The data shows that less than 77% of flights arrived on time last year, compared to more than 81% in 2021. Delta had the best rate at 82.5%; while ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant Air had the worst, at 63%.
The national cancellation rate was 2.7%, compared to about 1.8% in 2021. Hawaiian Airlines had the lowest cancellation rate, at 0.92%, while JetBlue had the highest, at 3.74%.
The overall mishandled baggage rate increased from 0.51% in 2021 to 0.64% in 2022. Allegiant Air had the lowest mishandled baggage rate at 0.16%; while American Airlines had the highest percentage, at 0.94%.
