Airline Customer Service
November 23, 2006
US airlines are pulling out of their financial tailspin but most are not paying close enough attention to customer service, especially when it comes to providing useful information on delays and cancellations, a government watchdog reported on Wednesday.
Additionally, the Transportation Department is doing a better job of overseeing consumer protection issues, including civil rights complaints. But the agency almost always forgives fines or other penalties if the airline agrees to correct the problem, and there is little or no follow-up, the agency's inspector general, Calvin Scovel III, said in his report.
The Transportation Department in response acknowledged room for improvement and said it will use a new electronic system to monitor its enforcement cases. It also said it was "developing rules to ensure consumers are properly compensated if they are unfairly denied boarding."
The update on consumer protection and the industry's 2001 pledge -- at the insistence of Congress -- to improve customer service comes as an estimated 22 million people board flights this week and next for the US Thanksgiving holiday.
Scovel's findings showed a sharp drop since the 2001 hijack attacks in the number of airlines that adequately maintain quality assurance programs for customer service.
Most complaints involve flight delays or cancellations, the report said. There were 2.2 million flights that were delayed or canceled in 2005, the latest figures show.
Airlines are supposed to provide helpful flight information but the report found that gate agents for 13 of 15 airlines at 17 airports did not make timely announcements more than 40 percent of the time.
One instance involved a Dallas-to-Philadelphia flight that was running 2-1/2 hours late. "No announcements were made regarding the delay and no reason was provided," Scovel said.
Scovel also said access to airline on-time performance data for all flights remains difficult to get via the Internet. Only five of 16 carriers that were reviewed made that information available on their web sites, prompting Scovel to recommend a tougher government response.
"The (DOT) should revisit its current position on chronic delays and cancellations and take enforcement action against air carriers that consistently advertise flight schedules that are unrealistic, regardless of the reason," Scovel said.
The report also found that airline information on frequent-flier benefits is of marginal value. Redemption information can be hard to find and is not broadly comparable. "As a result, it is difficult if not impossible for consumers to compare frequent-flier programs in a meaningful way," Scovel said.
The Air Transport Association, the trade group for the biggest airlines and most of those evaluated over the past year, said carriers are committed to good service.
"While the report notes a few areas for improvement, the airlines have worked diligently to reduce the rate of annual complaints 70 percent since 2000," James May, the group's president, said.
But Scovel noted complaints going up again as overall traffic rebounds after hitting a low in 2003. After delays, the biggest complaint involves mishandled baggage, the rate of which shot up in August and September when homeland security officials imposed new restrictions on carry-on luggage.
(Reuters)