More than 1.4 million domestic airline flights, nearly 20 percent of all arrivals, were late in 2004, according to figures released Thursday by the government.
The Transportation Department also said that the 19 airlines reporting results had more complaints about customer service and mishandled baggage than the 18 carriers that provided data in 2003.
The higher rate of late arrivals — which was 16 percent in 2003 — as well as 127,000 flight cancellations and service complaints, partly reflect the challenges of handling surging passenger traffic and serious financial problems at some of the biggest commercial carriers.
Bad weather is usually blamed for most flight delays. Flights are considered late if they are at least 15 minutes behind schedule.
The on-time performance range was narrow with Northwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines at or above 80 percent. American Eagle, a unit of AMR Corp. posted the lowest rate at 73 percent. Delta Air Lines was worst among the biggest airlines at 76.2 percent for the year.
More than 619 million people boarded aircraft last year compared to 564 million the previous year. Passenger volume has been steadily returning to levels not seen since the Sept. 11, 2001, hijack attacks.
But the industry has changed dramatically since the start of the decade. Low-cost carriers are carrying more people and moving into bigger markets with efficient and cheap service, while the larger, brand-name airlines are filling planes but wrestling with huge cost cuts they made to stay competitive.
Passengers filed 5,800 complaints over matters that include travel delays, lost baggage, poor service, overbooked flights, racial or ethnic discrimination and inadequate accommodations for the disabled.
More than half of all complaints were split between flight problems — delays, cancellations or missed connections — and mishandled baggage. There were 521 complaints about disability issues and 114 on discrimination concerns.
Bankrupt US Airways had by far the highest rate of overall complaints among major airlines at 1.21 per 100,000 passengers. The complaint rate at Southwest was 0.18 per 100,000, the lowest for a major carrier.
