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In all, the DOT
said, airlines bumped about 185,000 passengers during the last
quarter, also up from the year-ago quarter. Most volunteered to give
up their seats.
The worsening problem with bumping reflects the intensifying push by
airlines to fill a greater percentage of seats. Grappling with
soaring travel demand, continuing financial problems and record high
fuel prices, airlines are filling planes fuller to maximize ticket
revenue while holding down operating costs. No. 1 American Airlines
filled a record 87% of its seats last month, while Delta and
Continental filled 85% of seats during July. That means many flights
were sold out or oversold.
Southwest Airlines bumped nearly 32,000 passengers voluntarily or
involuntarily in the quarter, more than any other airline. But the
Dallas-based discount giant also carried more passengers than any of
the 19 airlines covered in the DOT report.
According to the DOT report, the percentage of delayed and canceled
flights also increased from a year earlier. More than 25% of all
domestic flights in June arrived late, defined as 15 minutes or more
off schedule.
Summer 2006 is shaping up as the most troublesome for airline
passengers in years, in part because of unexpected problems. During
the week of July 16, New York City suffered a power outage, and
Tropical Storm Beryl fouled up flights from New York to New England.
On July 26 and July 27, a Northwest Airlines computer glitch delayed
562 flights.
This summer, Chicagoan Tony Hiller, a frequent traveler, has found
that persistence pays. He spent two days trying to fly from Chicago
to the Washington, D.C., area to visit his grandmother.
When American canceled his flight from Chicago O'Hare to Washington
Reagan National Airport on July 20, a day when many flights were
canceled, the airline told him it couldn't assure him another seat
for four days.
"I was stunned," he says, "but some of the other passengers went
completely ballistic."
American told passengers the airport would provide cots for an
overnight stay if necessary. Instead, Hiller went home, and the next
day caught a Southwest evening flight from Chicago Midway to
Baltimore-Washington International.
Source: USA Today |
