In their
October 2009 Air Travel Consumer Report, the
U.S. Department of Transportation reports 208,000 filed baggage complaints for domestic airlines between August 2008 and August 2009. This number shows a significant decrease from last year's 270,000 complaints. These figures concern lost, damaged, or delayed baggage, charges for excess baggage, carry-on problems, and difficulties with airline claims procedures.
Best Airlines for Luggage Handling:
10.
ExpressJet Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.37
9.
United Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.12
8
. Southwest Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 3.57
7.
Northwest Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 3.13
6.
JetBlue Airways - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.93
5
. US Airways -Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.90
4.
Continental Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.89
3
. Frontier Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.24
2.
Hawaiian Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.11
1.
AirTran Airways - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 1.74
Worst Airlines for Luggage Handling:
9.
Alaska Airlines:
Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.40
8.
American Airlines:
Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.45
7.
Mesa Airlines:
Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.53
6.
Delta Airlines:
Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 5.02
5.
Skywest Airlines:
Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 5.25
4.
Pinnacle Airlines:
Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 6.25
3.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines:
Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 7.63
2.
American Eagle Airlines:
Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 7.81
1.
Comair:
Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 8.20
The
report also covers flight delays, oversales, consumer complaints, airline animal incident reports and customer service reports to the Department of Homeland Security.
