DOT Received 4,176 Air Travel Complaints, 55% Involves Refunds in June

According to the Department of Transportation, the agency received 4,176 air travel complaints in June. More than 55% pertains to refunds. And to top it off, the agency just received one compliment.

According to the DOT’s data, air travel complaints jumped by 18% from May to June. This number isn’t exactly surprising as the number of flight cancellations and other disruptions also increased. Different US airlines had to deal with staffing shortages during the summer.

As vaccination rollout in the US started well, people who received the vaccine became more confident to travel again. And with the return of passengers, airlines were unprepared to deal with the recent uptick in travel demand.

Airlines offered early retirement packages and leaves for their staff last year during the start of the pandemic. Unfortunately, hiring new staff and asking their pilots to return isn’t exactly simple. Pilots will have to be re-trained before they will be allowed to fly again. Southwest even recently announced an incentive program for their employees who can refer successful applicants.

According to DOT’s data, ten US airlines canceled 1.6% of the 573,779 domestic flights in June. That’s four times the number of canceled flights compared to May. The on-time rate fell from 86.2% to 74.6% from May to June.

Hawaiian Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Alaska Airlines are the top performers when it comes to their on-time rate. The airlines had 87.7%, 86.8%, 80.7% on-time rate respectively. Allegiant Air had the worst performance in June at just 56.6% for their on-time rate. Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways followed at 62.4% and 65.1% respectively.

More Air Travel Complaints for July and August

Air travel complaints worsened between late July and August. Spirit canceled more than 2,800 of its flights due to several problems including technology glitches, bad weather, and staffing shortages. American Airlines also had problems during early August. American experienced labor shortage and bad weather at its Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Dealing with pilot shortage, American paused its plans to close a pilot training center in Charlotte.