U.S. DOT Takes Credit for Airline Delay Reduction

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters announced last week that airlines have taken steps to fix chronically delayed flights because of the Department of Transportation's recent enforcement effort.

According to Secretary Peters, airlines have changed flight routes, added flight crews, and made additional aircraft available, because of an investigation instituted by the DOT.

"Tough scrutiny and a willingness to impose serious penalties have caused the airlines to correct these chronically delayed flights," Secretary Peters said.  "We will continue to be vigilant, and we will maintain our strong enforcement of these rules to help keep passengers from being treated unfairly."

The Department identified 183 flights that were chronically delayed during the first quarter, and in May advised the 15 airlines that operated those delayed flights that they needed to take corrective action.  In July, after the end of the second quarter, the six airlines operating 25 flights that were chronically delayed for two consecutive quarters were notified that if they failed to address these flights by the following quarter, they would face financial penalties of up to $25,000 per violation.

As a result, Secretary Peters said, by the end of September none of the chronically delayed flights from the first two quarters were chronically delayed in the third quarter.  In addition, the investigation found that airlines are now monitoring delayed flights more closely, and are taking a number of steps to correct chronically delayed flights.

The Secretary said the Department also issued a proposal earlier this month to require airlines to create legally binding contingency plans for extended tarmac delays, respond to all consumer complaints within 30 days, publish complaint information online, and provide on-time performance information for their international flights in addition to their domestic flights.

The Secretary said that, starting in May of 2007, the Department launched an investigation into twenty U.S. airlines to determine whether the carriers were engaging in unrealistic advertising practices by publishing schedules for flights that almost never operate on time.  The Department focused its investigation on chronically delayed flights - flights that were more than 15 minutes late, more than 70 percent of the time - over the first three calendar quarters of this year.  12-09-2007.

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