May sees more flight cancellations and passenger complaints

US airlines may simply be cancelling flights to avoid new penalties for delays.

Travel Insurance News - 12/07/2010

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Air travellers in the USA faced one of the most uncomfortable months in ages, as the number of flights cancelled in May rose a whopping 30 per cent on the same period last year. Over the same period, complaints from passengers were up 23 per cent. The figures released by the Transportation Department who that though airlines finally saw a healthy increase in demand, the situation grew much less comfortable for the poor passengers. In the first quarter of the year, the number of passengers bumped from flights rose 37 per cent.

One theory to explain the spike in flight cancellations is that airlines, fearful of new penalties for flights delayed by three hours or more, are resorting to cancelling flights outright. The penalties levied against airlines who leave passengers stranded on delayed planes for more than three hours can reach as high as $27,500 per passenger.

Following one of the worst slumps in the industry in history, airlines have implemented a raft of measures to cut costs and boost profitability. Airlines are no longer flying many of the least-profitable routes, with the remaining flights being packed. Though the moves are beneficial, at least in the short term, to airlines’ bottom lines, it means greater risk that passengers are bumped from overbooked flights. The next step in this progression is likely to be seen when new penalties for bumping passengers come into effect later this year.

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