DOT: Consumer Air Complaint Data Unavailable Again

Consumer complaint data regarding airline service has been delayed for the January 2023 Air Travel Consumer Report, just as it had for the December 2022 report, given the “high volume” received by the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation monthly consumer report. 

The December data remains scheduled for April, while the January data will be available in May, according to the agency.

Meanwhile, the number of January 2023 cancellations for the 10 reporting airlines was more than 11,000, about 1.9 percent out of nearly 573,800 flights scheduled. That figure represents an improvement over December 2022, when nearly 31,200 flights were canceled, about 5.4 percent of more than 578,300 scheduled, mainly because of stormy weather and Southwest Airlines’ operational difficulties at the end of the month. 

Still, Southwest accounted for 3,234 January cancellations, about 29 percent of the total, followed by American Airlines at 13 percent, according to DOT.

The number of flights operated by U.S. airlines in January was up 6.6 percent year over year to nearly 562,850 and increased 2.9 percent month over month from more than 547,100 flights operated in December.

For the. month, U.S. carriers handled 36.6 million bags and posted a mishandled baggage rate of 0.73 percent per 100 bags enplaned, lower than both the January 2022 rate of 0.81 percent and the December 2022 rate of 1.1 percent.

RELATED: DOT: Southwest, Storm Drive December Air Cancellations