BRIEFLY / AIRLINES : American Leads in Air Passenger Complaints

AMR Corp.’s American Airlines, the second-largest carrier, had the most passenger complaints of any major U.S. airline in July, while America West Airlines ranked last in on-time performance, the government said. American led for the second month in a row in complaints, with more than five filed for every 100,000 passengers in July, the Transportation Department said. About 60% of America West’s flights were on time, ranking it last among the 10 largest carriers. Southwest Airlines Co. performed best in both areas for the second straight month. Documented complaints soared in recent months, prompting the Transportation Department to bow to airline pressure and acknowledge this month that delays can come from the air traffic control system rather than the airlines. Consumers registered 2,485 complaints about airline service with the department in July, up 87% from June and the highest number since March 1988, when 2,584 complaints were received, the agency said. An average of 71.1% of the flights among the 10 largest U.S. carriers were on time in July, better than the 70.9% in June. But that lagged the 78.9% in the year-earlier month. American, which had the worst on-time performance of the 10 largest carriers in June, ranked sixth in July with 70.7% of its flights on time.