Airplane Passenger Complaints Up 20%, Survey Finds
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Medioimages/Photodisc/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Airline passenger complaints to the Department of Transportation were up by 20 percent, or one-fifth last year, according to an annual air quality survey.
With fewer mishandled bags and more on-time arrivals, the 20 percent rise in complaints by passengers might sound surprising. But Charlie Leocha of the Consumer Travel Alliance says the Internet is making it easier for passengers to air their frustrations.
“Because of the ability for people to complain, because of the Internet, because of the new online complaint systems which send your complaints directly to DOT, consumers now have a way to complain more easily,” he says.
“All of a sudden some of the problems which in the past were sort of swept under the rug, so to speak, are now all of a sudden being discovered,” he adds.
Overbooked flights and small seats aboard many airplanes are a growing cause of complaints.
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