US: Airline complaints rise even as more planes arrive on time
More US flights are arriving on time and airlines are losing fewer bags, yet more consumers are complaining about air travel. Traveller complaints jumped 34% last year, to the highest level since 2000. The top frustration is problem flights including cancelations and delays, which is unchanged in 16 years. "Everything is getting better, but they are still unhappy about the same things," says Dean Headley, co-author of an annual report on airline quality. He thinks passengers resent the growth in extra fees for things like checked baggage and changing or cancelling a reservation, and that makes them quicker to complain when something goes wrong with their trip. It was the fifth increase in complaints in 6 years. Still, more than 670m people flew on US carriers last year, so only a tiny slice bothered to complain to the govt. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2016-04-22/general/us-airline-complaints-rise-even-as-more-planes-arrive-on-time
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US: Airline complaints rise even as more planes arrive on time
More US flights are arriving on time and airlines are losing fewer bags, yet more consumers are complaining about air travel. Traveller complaints jumped 34% last year, to the highest level since 2000. The top frustration is problem flights including cancelations and delays, which is unchanged in 16 years. "Everything is getting better, but they are still unhappy about the same things," says Dean Headley, co-author of an annual report on airline quality. He thinks passengers resent the growth in extra fees for things like checked baggage and changing or cancelling a reservation, and that makes them quicker to complain when something goes wrong with their trip. It was the fifth increase in complaints in 6 years. Still, more than 670m people flew on US carriers last year, so only a tiny slice bothered to complain to the govt. <br/>
