That increase is despite data that shows 77.7% of flights arrived on time during that period, up from about 74% from a year ago.
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Spirit and competing ultralow discount airline Frontier had by far the worst complaint rates, more than five times the industry average and 20 times the rate of the least-complained-about carrier, Southwest Airlines.
The numbers of airline consumer complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) from January to June 2015 are up 20.3% from the same period last year, according to the DOT’s Air Travel Consumer Report, released on August. 11.
“While our performance in June didn’t meet our expectations, we are committed to doing what it takes to run a more reliable airline”, Hart said.
Complaints about flight problems, like cancellations, delays and misconnections, were most common, followed by gripes about baggage, reservations and ticketing, and customer service. The airline also said it was experiencing a spike in aircraft maintenance issues, a problem it says is improving.
Spirit performed poorly at almost all airports it serves but was worst in Philadelphia, Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and Detroit, where on-time percentages were in the 30s.
June was a busy month the department recording 2,052 complaints about airline service. About two in three flights were late.
The overall rate of complaints against airlines jumped 45 percent from June 2014, but Spirit alone was responsible for more than half the increase. That’s 15% more than the same period past year. “Serve&File_id=79d9b832-3d92-48a4-af4f-9a4cce28f5ae” >released a report last week calling for a crackdown on airlines.
Spirit passengers were 43 times more likely to file a complaint than passengers on Alaska Airlines, which had the lowest complaint rate.
The largest number of complaints were the usual annoyances of delays and cancellations. That’s small compared with the number of passengers – about one in 5,200.
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While the record financial positions of its carriers have rightfully given the industry reasons to be jubilant, it appears US airlines need to find ways to address their passenger dealings in order for their customer service to match up.
