Airline Delays, Runway Incidents Up, Data Say
U.S. air travel delays and passenger dissatisfaction remain at an all-time high, according to a government report being released today that also shows potentially hazardous runway incidents sharply on the rise.
The Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General found that consumer complaints rose 16% in the first 11 months of 2000 compared with the same period in 1999.
A quarter of all flights affecting 119 million people were delayed, canceled or diverted in the first nine months of 2000. The average length of the delay exceeded 50 minutes.
Scheduled flights for the first nine months of last year, the most recent government statistics available, grew by more than 100,000 over 1999 figures to more than 4.7 million. Airlines transport roughly 600 million people annually.
The statistics were part of the inspector general’s annual report on management priorities for 2001.
“Addressing flight delays, cancellations and resulting consumer dissatisfaction will require a multifaceted approach, including new technology, airspace redesign and airport infrastructure enhancements,” the report said.
“The window for sorting through options for the short term is extremely narrow,” it added.
One question is whether a lottery for airport usage, such as the one held by the Federal Aviation Administration in December to ease massive congestion at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, will work.
Another is whether peak-hour airline ticket-pricing strategies, if deemed legal, would provide any relief. A third is whether technological changes underway can keep pace with demand.
The report also cited the importance of an ongoing airline industry effort to improve service in 12 areas. An inspector general’s report on that initiative is due in a week.
The FAA also said it is working with the U.S. military and the Canadian government to expand airspace in certain circumstances, such as bad weather, to reduce flight delays in congested corridors.
Michael Wascom, an ATA spokesman, said roughly 70% of delays are due to weather.
“We’re going to do the best we can [with the things] that are under our control,” he said. For instance, he said airline over-scheduling accounts for roughly 7% of delays.
The airlines complain the government has failed to upgrade air traffic systems, whereas they have modernized fleets and aviation technology. “They’re behind the curve,” said one industry source who added that the FAA needs to function more like a business.
The report said the FAA, which has a $12.5-billion budget, has made some progress and must move further ahead with plans to become a “results-oriented” organization with a more efficient financial system and more staff accountability.
