Airline complaints are any type of formal

complaint In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...

filed by an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

customer either to the airline responsible for the grievance or the government office responsible for overseeing the airlines national industry. Airline complaints generally arise out of problems experienced during

air travel Air travel is a form of travel in vehicles such as airplanes, jet aircraft, helicopters, hot air balloons, blimps, Glider (aircraft), gliders, Hang gliding, hang gliders, parachuting, parachutes, or anything else that can sustain flight.

that were left unresolved.

Airline complaints in the US

According to th
Airline Quality Rating 2007
report, airline hassles in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

have increased since 2005. The rate of complaints, on the other hand, have remained roughly the same, with 0.88 complaints per 100,000, half of which were due to problems with flights or baggage. This may be due to passengers being more forgiving since 9/11. However, there is also criticism about whether the number of official complaints truly reflects the experience passengers are encountering, considering the difficulty passengers have in finding out how to issue a formal complaint. Furthermore, complaints about airline complaints have increased in the US, showing that those who are able to complain, are dissatisfied with the results.

Airline complaints in Europe

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, air passengers have more rights than in the US and must be compensated by law for overbookings, cancellations or flight delays. After this law ( Regulation 261/2004) was introduced in the EU in early 2005, complaints soared, as expected, since more compensation could be expected by passengers who officially complained. In fact, complaints related to cancellations increased 600% and complaints related to delays increased 500%,Complaints to airlines rocket after new EU rules - Home News, UK - Independent.co.uk
not surprisingly since those are categories where increased compensation took effect since the new law.

Airlines receiving most complaints

In the US,

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...

had the lowest rate of complaints in 2006, with 0.11 complaints per 100,000 passengers, while

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

and

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

had the worst rate of complaints, both with 1.36 complaints per 100,000 passengers.

is also the US airline with the worst on-time performance, which might explain its rate of complaints.

Government agencies overseeing complaints

In the US, the Department of Transportation is responsible for the airline industry and has a specific division called the Aviation Consumer Protection Service that handles airline complaints. They also publish figures on the performance of major US airlines, which are freely accessible on their website. In the UK, the Civil Aviation Authority can help passengers with complaints about an airline, where passengers have complained to an airline and not been able to resolve their complaint.

Alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

(for example

mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

adjudication Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between th ...

) is available for passengers travelling in and out of the UK. A list of airlines who have signed up to ADR is published on the CAA's website. In the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, several member countries do not have specific offices to handle airline complaints.Airline Passenger Revolt Spreads to Europe
/ref> However, the Air Transport Portal of the European Commission handles airline complaints from member countries.

References

External links