{"id":4999,"date":"2023-03-29T03:00:35","date_gmt":"2023-03-29T10:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/california\/?post_type=resource&p=4999"},"modified":"2023-04-03T05:47:02","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T12:47:02","slug":"the-plane-truth","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/dev.pirg-test.com\/california\/resources\/the-plane-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"The Plane Truth"},"featured_media":47025,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[187],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"resource_type":[87],"region_tax":[],"state":[2],"topic_tax":[154],"class_list":["post-4999","resource","type-resource","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[154],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":87,"event_type":false,"campaigns":187,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[2],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":154}},"subtitle":"","excerpt":"Passengers fed up with airlines' performance; analysis of DOT data shows complaints quadruple, cancellations soar","featured_image":47025,"caption_override":"","updated_on":null,"sidebar_action":"","related_event":"","hide_hero_image":false,"location":"internal","external_link":{"publication_name":"","url":""},"file":null,"sidebar_action_query_string":""},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":[{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":16,"people":"128"},"information":{"name":"","image":null,"role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}}]},"helper_downloads":{"title":"Downloads","files":[{"file":100000000047101,"title":"READ THE FULL REPORT: The Plane Truth: Passengers fed up with airlines' performance; analysis of DOT data shows complaints quadruple, cancellations and delays soar"}]},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"The number of people who flew in 2022 on U.S. airlines remains below pre-pandemic 2019 levels. But consumer complaints about air travel nearly quadrupled compared with 2019. And that\u2019s <\/span>before<\/span><\/i> the final tally of the flood of December complaints.<\/span>\r\n\r\nRefunds \u2013 or the lack of \u2013 again topped the list of airline complaints for the first 11 months of 2022, but the volume of refund complaints fell significantly compared with 2021. Refund complaints, however, were still more than 10 times higher than in 2019 \u2013 again before counting December 2022 refund complaints.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nMeanwhile, in a year when we started trying to get back to pre-pandemic \u201cnormal,\u201d the airline industry wasn\u2019t ready. Nearly every major holiday and travel period last year was marred by cancellations. Now, the industry is gearing up for the busiest travel season in four years,<\/span> with 78 million passengers projected in April<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\r\n\r\nOver all of 2022, airlines 190,038 flights canceled in the United States, or 2.7% of all scheduled flights.<\/span> And 1.44 million more flights -- 20.6% \u2013 were delayed.\u00a0 This is according to just-released data from the U.S Department of Transportation.<\/span>\r\n\r\nSetting aside 2020, last year we saw the highest number of cancellations since 2001. Air travel was disrupted that year by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when the skies were <\/span>empty for days<\/span><\/a> and quieter than normal for months after.\u00a0<\/span>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_large_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_large_image":{"width":"narrow","image":47086,"caption_override":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"
2022 was the first sort-of normal travel year since 2019. The volume of airline passengers in 2022 remained below 2019 levels, but total complaints quadrupled, even before December complaint totals are publicly released. The 2019 total was 15,342. The 2022 total was 60,732.<\/h6>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"\r\nAs a result, consumer complaints about cancellations and delays through November 2022 tripled compared with all of 2019. It\u2019s no wonder since both the number of cancellations and cancellation rates last year increased over both 2021 and 2019. Likewise, airlines mishandled nearly 3 million bags, wheelchairs or scooters last year.<\/span> This lost, damaged, delayed or pilfered baggage represents problems with a higher percentage of checked bags than in 2021 or 2019.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThese are the key takeaways of an analysis of Department of Transportation (DOT) <\/span>data<\/span><\/a> by U.S. PIRG Education Fund. The DOT two weeks ago released its air travel report for 2022, with information about cancellations, on-time arrivals, bumping, lost and damaged luggage and wheelchairs, and more. The monthly reports also normally include details about complaints filed by consumers. For the first time in at least 25 years, however, the DOT\u2019s year-end report did <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> include complaint data.<\/span> The reason? After the Christmas weekend airline meltdown, there were simply too many complaints for DOT to tally, <\/span>the agency said<\/span><\/a>. The 2022 complaint data is expected sometime in April.<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn a nutshell, just about everything negative got worse in 2022: complaints, cancellations, delays, involuntary bumping and baggage handling \u2013 all while the number of air travelers for the full year of 2022 was below 2019 levels.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe backdrop of all of this is, of course, the pandemic. When COVID-19 exploded in March 2020 \u2013 three years ago this month \u2013 the airline industry collapsed, understandably. In the early months of the pandemic, most people didn\u2019t want to fly unnecessarily and, even if they did, virtually all events that people might travel to were canceled anyway. Some airlines could have quickly gone out of business if not for the <\/span>$54 billion lifeline<\/span><\/a> from the U.S. government \u2013 our tax dollars \u2013 aimed at keeping the airlines afloat and covering their payroll for 18 months, through September 2021. The catch: The airlines were instructed not to lay off any employees. Instead, however, many of the companies offered <\/span>early retirements<\/span><\/a> and lucrative buyout packages.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nSo when air travel started rebounding after COVID vaccines became widely available in 2021, most of the airlines weren\u2019t quite ready, particularly regarding staffing. In February 2020, before the <\/span>pandemic declaration<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>passenger airlines employed<\/span><\/a> 458,229 full-time equivalent employees. By October 2020, that number had plunged 20 percent to 366,115 and didn\u2019t rebound to pre-pandemic levels until nearly two years later, in July 2022.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe lower number of employees doesn\u2019t even reflect staffing levels that were disrupted when workers were off unexpectedly because they had COVID or had to care for a child whose school was shut down. And it doesn\u2019t reflect the <\/span>shortage of pilots<\/span><\/a>, which existed before the pandemic and just got worse.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe effects of all of this can be measured in the complaints filed with the DOT and performance data tracked by DOT. Our analysis shows the industry and regulators both have a lot of work to do.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nLisa Sands could give them some advice. The Ohio marketing executive and her husband returned from a \u201cbucket list\u201d 10-day trip to Europe just before Christmas. Their connecting flight from Newark, like thousands of others on Dec. 23, was canceled. They finally got home on Dec. 27, but only because they got a one-way car rental from New Jersey, she told U.S. PIRG Education Fund.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThey weren\u2019t mad that their initial flight was canceled. Or even their second. They were beyond frustrated that United Airlines was of little help.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nUnited kept Sands on hold for eight hours, lost track of the couple\u2019s luggage and gave her the runaround about rebooking or refunds, blaming its partner airline and the third-party the couple booked their travel through. Sands and her husband got home four days late and nearly $2,000 poorer. She\u2019s not sure which category to file her complaint under \u2013 there are so many choices.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, tales like Sands\u2019 are not uncommon. If there\u2019s a silver lining to the Christmas mess, it\u2019s that it\u2019s shining a bright spotlight on problems that have existed for years. The DOT in recent months has proposed several new consumer protections and Congress may take up some issues as well. Relief for weary travelers can\u2019t come soon enough.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAs many Americans gear up for airline travel over the Easter holiday and summer vacation season, there\u2019s reason to wonder when -- or if \u2013 air travel will return to the higher standards we enjoyed before the pandemic.<\/span>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_featured_resource","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_featured_resource":{"resource":[4999]}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_large_image","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_large_image":{"width":"narrow","image":47102,"caption_override":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

CHRISTMAS MELTDOWN CAPPED A YEAR OF INCREASED CANCELLATIONS<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nBack in Ohio, Sands\u2019 experience checks almost all of the boxes of the airline industry\u2019s very bad awful no good year. Or three bad years.<\/span>\r\n\r\nPoor customer service and poor communication? Check. Multiple canceled flights? Sure. Lost bags? Yup. Unwillingness to accept any responsibility? Definitely.<\/span>\r\n\r\nFor all that Sands and her husband dealt with, she hasn\u2019t yet followed through yet with a DOT complaint. When the Ohio couple first got back from their two weeks away in December, they were trying to catch up on the Christmas they missed with their family and friends. And they were mentally exhausted. And then the holidays were over and it was time to go back to work.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe Christmas weekend meltdown for millions of travelers \u2013 with more than 25,000 flights canceled from Dec. 22 through Dec. 29 \u2013 was just the latest nightmare that millions of travelers would like to forget. Those were the bulk of the 31,187 flights canceled in December.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe biggest problems in 2022 were refunds, and cancellations and delays.<\/span>\r\n\r\nFor all of 2022, 190,038 flights were canceled in the United States, or 2.7%\u00a0 of all scheduled flights.\u00a0 That's just the ones that were canceled within seven days of departure. The rest don't count.<\/span>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_accordion","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_accordion":{"title":"Read more","entries":[{"title":"","content":"With that as a backdrop, here\u2019s what DOT says:<\/span>\r\n

Those with the highest percentage of cancellations in 2022, and above the industry average:\r\nJetBlue: 3.7%\r\nAllegiant: 3.5%\r\nSouthwest: 3.3%\r\nSpirit: 3%\r\nFrontier: 2.9%\r\nAmerican: 2.8%<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n \r\n

Those with the lowest percentages of cancellations:<\/strong>\r\nHawaiian Airlines: 0.92%<\/strong>\r\nDelta: 2%<\/strong>\r\nAlaska: 2.2%<\/strong>\r\nUnited: 2.7%<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n \r\n\r\nThe numbers were much worse for December, when the top 10 airlines and their marketing partners canceled a total of 31,187 flights. About 17,000 of those were from Southwest \u2013 an eye-popping 15% of its flights Alaska canceled nearly 8 percent of flights, while Allegiant canceled 5 percent..<\/span>\r\n\r\nOver the last nearly two years, the airlines have pointed the finger at bad weather, COVID variants, <\/span>space shuttle launches<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>air traffic controllers<\/span><\/a>. Anything but themselves.<\/span>"}]}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_quote","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_quote":{"quote":"If we don\u2019t even know how many cancellations there are, how can we possibly fix it?","image":"","attribution":{"name":"William McGee","role":"Senior Fellow, Aviation and Travel at the American Economic Liberties Project"}}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

WHEN A CANCELLATION ISN'T REALLY A CANCELLATION<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nKeep in mind that that figure includes only flights canceled within seven days before the planned departure date. Flights that get scrubbed more than seven days ahead of time are considered \u201cdiscontinued flights.\u201d So while a flight that gets canned eight or 10 days before your trip might be a hassle to rebook \u2013 possibly facing higher prices or no available seats \u2013 it doesn\u2019t count against the airline.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThis little-known fact about \u201cdiscontinued\u201d flights had been kept largely under wraps until cancellations started becoming such an enormous problem last year.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWilliam McGee is one veteran of the airline industry and consumer advocacy who was blindsided by a DOT disclosure that flights that are canceled aren\u2019t really considered by DOT to be canceled if they\u2019re canceled more than seven days before departure.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cI was blown away. I\u2019ve been around the industry for 38 years. I always, always believed for all of these years that discontinued flights were rolled into cancellations,\u201d said McGee, a senior fellow for aviation and Travel at <\/span>the American Economic Liberties Project who was with Consumer Reports for 22 years. \u201cThe worst part of it is (discontinued flights) are not captured at all. That part is really disturbing.\u201d<\/span>","":null}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_accordion","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_accordion":{"title":"Read more","entries":[{"title":"","content":"McGee, who was invited last week to speak at a <\/span>Senate hearing<\/span><\/a> on enhancing airline passenger protections, said it\u2019s unacceptable to not use the dictionary definition of \u201ccancellation\u201d for flights that don\u2019t happen. \u201cIf we don\u2019t even know how many cancellations there are, how can we possibly fix it?\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe DOT does track cancellation rates for individual airlines, as well as delays for airlines and individual airports. If the flight you booked two months ago for a vacation that starts this weekend is removed from the airline's schedule (canceled), you get a refund, of course. But that may not make you whole if you have to rebook your flight and prices have increased because it's a last-minute reservation.\r\n\r\nThe DOT reports the cancellation rate was much worse for December, when the top 10 airlines and their marketing partners canceled a total of 31,187 flights. About 17,000 of those were from Southwest \u2013 an eye-popping 15% of its flights. Alaska canceled nearly 8 percent of flights, while Allegiant canceled 5 percent..<\/span>\r\n\r\nOver the last nearly two years, the airlines have pointed the finger at bad weather, COVID variants, <\/span>space shuttle launches<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>air traffic controllers<\/span><\/a>. Anything but themselves.<\/span>"}]}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

THE LONG LIST OF WEEKS AND WEEKENDS HIT BY TRAVEL DISRUPTIONS<\/h3>\r\nConsider this incomplete list of travel periods marred by cancellations and delays during an 18-month period from June 2021 through December 2022:\r\n