Way back in the early 19th century, traveling long distances wasn’t exactly the most relaxing or convenient endeavor. Take the 1820s, for instance, when horse drawn buses were all the rage. If air travel had been available in the Victorian period, there would be little to no complaints (although maybe an few accusation of witchcraft or two).
Yet just because air travel is possible nowadays doesn’t mean it’s become convenient.
In fact, according to TIME, airline complaints have gone up a whopping 20% since the beginning of 2015.
Popular air carriers have been no stranger to headlines, as many have been accused of concealing and withholding airfare information from third-party travel sites.
In their article, TIME reports that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report notes over 9,000 complaints that have been filed regarding a smattering of consumer issues. During the same period in 2014, only 7,935 complaints were filed.
Among many other offenses, customers phoned in and complained about problems such as flight delays, cancellations, refunds, and fares.
Of all of the carriers to receive complaints, the report stated that the two biggest culprits were Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines. Both companies have five times the number of complaints compared to any other airline carrier.
This is interesting, considering both carriers boast low rates in exchange for minimal customer service perks.
However, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report wasn’t all bad news. According to CNN, complaints for major carriers such as JetBlue and Delta decreased in small increments.
Another plus? Incidences of misplaced baggage went down significantly. In 2014, this was a major issue for all airline carriers.
During a time where fuel prices are low, competition is relatively diminished, and airfare prices are high, airlines have every reason to be providing quality customer service.
Will next period see improvements? For now, that’s all up in the air.
