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Thanksgiving Flight? No Thanks |
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DOT
warns of holiday flight delays
Dateline 11/18/00
Flying home for
Thanksgiving? Better leave now, or it will be turkey neck sandwiches for you,
warns Department of Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater.Slater cautioned air travelers
yesterday to allow extra travel time due to heavy
travel during the Thanksgiving holiday as he released a report showing that
during the 1999 Thanksgiving season. According to the report, the greatest number of flight delays and
cancellations took place on the Monday and Tuesday before the holiday and on the
following Monday.
The analysis was prepared by the Bureau
of Transportation Statistics (BTS), an agency of the U.S. Department of
Transportation (DOT).
"Consistent with President Clinton and Vice
President Gore’s commitment to ‘put people first,’ the U.S. Department of
Transportation is undertaking a broad effort to improve customer service and
information flow for air travelers," Secretary Slater said. "Improving
customer service ranks second only to safety here at DOT, and the information
from BTS will help travelers understand past Thanksgiving travel patterns so
they can properly prepare for this Thanksgiving."
The BTS analysis found
the following about Thanksgiving 1999:
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Flights delayed more
than one hour
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Flights Canceled
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Monday, Nov. 22
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5.5 %
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3.6%
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Tuesday, Nov. 23
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7.6%
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1.5%
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Wednesday, Nov. 24
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4.0%
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0.5%
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Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25
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1.2%
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0.5%
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Friday, Nov. 26
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1.2%
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0.8%
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Saturday, Nov. 27
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3.2%
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0.7%
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Sunday, Nov. 28
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3.6%
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0.4%
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Monday, Nov. 29
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4.3%
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1.0%
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"People
first," did not seem to apply last year for flyers on the Tuesday before
Thanksgiving Day at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago where the average
departing flight was delayed 30 minutes and departing passengers reached their
destinations 41 minutes behind schedule.
In other measures to provide better information flow and customer service for
air travelers, DOT formed a task force to consider ways to improve the on-time
information that airlines and DOT provide to consumers. The task force will
issue its recommendations to Secretary Slater later this month. In addition, the
department last month issued a report on airlines’ "best practices"
for improving the accuracy and timeliness of flight information to air
travelers. [See: DOT Reports on Airline Performance]
The DOT has also issued this set of tips
to help flyers avoid and cope with flight delays.
May your holiday skies be safe and friendly.
