Safety Concerns for American Airlines Passengers
In April 2008, following the allegations that the FAA was lax in its enforcement of Airworthiness Directives and the subsequent $10.2 million fine against Southwest Airlines for flying planes that missed inspections, American Airlines cancelled over 3,000 flights to inspect, and in some cases, repair wiring in the wheel wells of the planes. The cancellations affected around 100,000 passengers, whose vacations and family events, including vacations and family weddings, could not be repaired with monetary compensation. [Read more]
Paying More for Less? Rising Ticket Prices at United
While ranking at or near the bottom in customer service in various reports, United has attempted to raise fares 14 times between January 1st and April 28th . Airfare hikes have been initiated by both United and Delta, and after successful system-wide increases, passengers are paying up to $130 more per domestic airline ticket than they did in January. Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com, has put together the list of the fare hikes: [Read more]
United Airlines Cancels Flights for Safety Inspections
On April 2, 2008, United – following Southwest, American, and Delta – became the fourth carrier within one month to cancel flights for inspections after it admitted to the FAA that it had failed to completely inspect the fire suppression system on its Boeing 777 aircraft. United canceled 38 flights and delayed dozens of others to carry out inspections on 52 of its 777s, stranding thousands of passengers, especially those on its international routes .
This string of cancellations and inspections came after two FAA inspectors blew the whistle on FAA’s lack of oversight [Read more]
How’s Customer Service at United?
The DOT’s Air Traveler Consumer Report released in January 2008 found United to have the highest rate of consumer complaints out of 20 domestic airlines, with an average of 2.74 complaints per 100,000 passengers, surpassing other airlines such as US Airways, Delta, or American. United fared a little better in February 2008 – ranking 19th out of 20 airlines – but slipped to the bottom again in March.
Employees Sacrifice for Executives Compensation
At the same time that American continues to nickel and dime its passengers, they continue to disregard the sacrifices made by their employees to keep them financially afloat.
American Airlines was able to avoid filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after 9/11 when, in 2003, the unions representing pilots, flight attendants, and ground workers agreed to concessions of $1.6 billion in pay and benefit cuts. [Read more]
Delays for American Airlines Passengers
According to the Air Travel Consumer Report, released by the Department of Transportation, American Airlines and its subsidiary, American Eagle, rank among the bottom 5 of US carriers for flight delays, coming in at 17 and 16, respectively, beating out only US Airways, Comair, and Atlantic Southeast. [Read more]
Two United Planes Skipped off Runways in 4 Months
On October 9, 2007, and February 25, 2008, two United planes – both Airbus A320 – skidded off the runways during landing at O’Hare and Jackson Hole Airport.
Investigations later revealed that the problems were caused by crossed wiring [Read more]
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United Airlines’ On-Time Performance
According to the Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report Released in January 2008, United dropped from 11th place to 20th place out of 20 airlines when ranked for on-time performance.
Best On-Time Performance
1. Hawaiian Airlines (92.2%)*
2. Pinnacle Airlines (80.5%)
3. SkywestAirways (77.9%)
4. Alaska Airlines (77.8%)
5. Atlantic Southeast Airlines (77.3%)
6. US Airways (76.3%)
7. Southwest Airlines (76.3%)
8. Airtran Airways (74.6%)
9. Frontier Airlines (74.3%)
10. Delta Air Lines (72.9%)
11. ExpressJet Airlines (68.5%)
12. Northwest Airlines (67.6%)
13. Continental Airlines (67.4%)
14. Mesa Airlines (67.3%)
15. American Eagle (65.7%)
16. JetBlue Airways (64.9%)
17. Comair (63.4%)
18. United Airlines (59.3%)
19. American Airlines (68.8%)
*percent of arrivals on time
(Source: Department of Transportation, Air Travel Consumer Report for June 2008)
