Air Travel Consumer Report: Worst airlines for luggage handing

(Photo: dorothykorea.com)

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In their October 2009 Air Travel Consumer Report, the U.S. Department of Transportation reports 208,000 filed baggage complaints for domestic airlines between August 2008 and August 2009. This number shows a significant decrease from last year's 270,000 complaints. These figures concern lost, damaged, or delayed baggage, charges for excess baggage, carry-on problems, and difficulties with airline claims procedures.


Best Airlines for Luggage Handling:
10. ExpressJet Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.37
9. United Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.12
8. Southwest Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 3.57
7. Northwest Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 3.13
6. JetBlue Airways - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.93
5. US Airways -Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.90
4. Continental Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.89
3. Frontier Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.24
2. Hawaiian Airlines - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 2.11
1. AirTran Airways - Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 1.74

Worst Airlines for Luggage Handling:
9. Alaska Airlines: Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.40
8. American Airlines: Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.45
7. Mesa Airlines: Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 4.53
6. Delta Airlines: Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 5.02
5. Skywest Airlines: Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 5.25
4. Pinnacle Airlines: Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 6.25
3. Atlantic Southeast Airlines: Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 7.63
2. American Eagle Airlines: Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 7.81
1. Comair: Number of complaints per 1,000 passengers: 8.20
The report also covers flight delays, oversales, consumer complaints, airline animal incident reports and customer service reports to the Department of Homeland Security.

For more info: U.S. Department of Transportation's October 2009 Air Travel Consumer Report