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13,168 airline complaints in 2007 — is that a new record?

February 5, 2008

You don’t have to be a travel expert to know that 2007 was a bad year for airline service. But just how bad wasn’t clear until this morning. That’s when the government released its official numbers for domestic airlines, showing that in almost every major category, airline service is circling the drain.

Here’s the official release.

The key takeaway:

The 20 airlines reporting on-time performance with DOT recorded an on-time arrival rate of 73.4 percent in 2007, down from their 75.4 percent mark in 2006. These carriers recorded a rate of 7.03 reports of mishandled baggage per 1,000 passengers last year, up from 2006’s rate of 6.73. In addition, consumers filed 13,168 complaints about airline service with the Department, 58.2 percent more than the 8,325 filed in 2006.

These are dreadful numbers. But they probably only tell half the story. Airline insiders acknowledge that less than 10 percent of all complaints make it to the DOT, and the number may be less than 5 percent, if you ask me.

BTS also fails to put the number into a broader context. Here are some unanswered questions:

Are the 13,168 complaints a record, or was there another year (2001?) that drew more complaints? My guess is, this is a record.

Have the airlines ever posted worse on-time numbers in a year? If so, when? And how does 2007 compare?

Also, have the airlines ever “mishandled” luggage this much in a year? I’ll bet this is a record, too.

I don’t know why the government won’t help taxpayers understand these numbers. Maybe it doesn’t have the resources. Then again, maybe it is reluctant to embarrass the airline industry.

Update: I’m wrong. I checked with the Transportation Department, and spokesman Bill Mosley responded with the following information:

Going back to 1970, the first year the government tallied airline consumer complaints, 2007 ranks only 13th in terms of the number of complaints received. The record year was 1987 when consumers registered 44,845 complaints. The most recent year complaints were higher than 2007 was 2001, when we received 16,508 complaints.

So it’s safe to say this is the most complaints the DOT has received since 9/11, but it isn’t a record year.

Thanks, Bill.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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7 comments

  • Scott

    Elliot, you need to add a less than ” to close off the tag, notsure what blog software your using but I hope this notifies you that you’ve got a comment =)

    -Scott

  • Christopher Elliott

    The plugins are doing that. I’m sorry. I’m working on a fix.

  • Scott

    No apologies necessary, I love traveling but don’t get to do it that often and your blogs are an excellent source of information. Please keep up the good work!

  • michael

    Hi Bill,
    This is the first time I have ever responded to a complaint blog.I see the number of complaints you call outrageous and I can’t help but wonder if you have done any homework on the number of passengers enplanements in any given year.In 2007,U.S.
    air carriers enplaned over 700,000,000 passengers.Think about that number.Now,think about the number of complaints,13,168.Even if you multiply 13168 by 10,you still only have 131,680 complaints.What part of 700,000,000 is 13168 or even 131,680.By any standard,in any other industry,a complaint ratio as low as this would be considered outstanding.Why is the airline indusrty held to a different standard from any other?The actual complaint ratio in the rail,cruise,bus,taxi,limo or any other mode of transportation is much higher.I don’t see any government stats published from any of those industries.
    The American traveling public has gotten just what it is willing to pay for.Cheap,cheap cheap.They should not expect prime rib on a spam budget.You pay for spam,you get spam…….maybe we should quit bitching so much,or,be willing to actually pay more for service…..just a thought….Mike

  • Scott

    Keep in mind these are only the people that reported to the DOT (I believe). The majority of people will not complain maybe 1 out of 10, than of the people who do, how many sit down to write a letter to a company and out of those people how many did the research to know to file a copy with the DOT?

    That’s still a lot of problems either way you divide it.

  • David

    Elliot,

    Does the number include complaints sent to the airlines or just the complaints sent to Transportation Department, Where do we send complaints so they can be counted for this number. Please provide the guidelines for folks to follow. Then going forward if you send a complaint to the airline also sent it to the Transportation Department

  • http://www.cheapertravel.com Craig Pavlus

    The complaints compiled are only sent to the DOT. If all complaints received by airlines were sent to the DOT travelers would be horrified by the level of service being provided to the average consumer. Seems like the airline lobby solved their complaints by having the DOT agree not to require all complaints to be forwarded.

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