U.S. airlines saw large increase in complaints first half of 2022
If you lodged a complaint to an airline about its performance this year, you are far from alone. New federal data show the number passenger complaints to U.S. carriers more than doubled in the first half of 2022, between January and June, compared with the first half of 2021 — with nearly six-times more complaints about flight problems like cancellations, delays, or missed connections. The new crush of complaints came as airlines dramatically increased capacity to meet surging demand. The data show airlines increased their total flight volume, or airline operations, by 25%. Still, the number of passenger complaints climbed well beyond that figure, rising from 6,827 in the first half of 2021 to 15,955 during the same period this year. The number of flight-problem-related complaints soared from 1,035 to 5,569. The same data show every major U.S. airline saw worse on-time arrival rates in the first six months of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021. For the second year in a ro...