Total November flight operations were down from October, but cancellations also continued to decline, according to the latest U.S. Department of Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report.
U.S. carriers in November operated nearly 599,000 flights, nearly a 6.8 percent increase year over year, but that also represents a 5.4 percent month-over-month decrease.
Carriers in November canceled just 0.1 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, lower than both the 1.1 percent rate from November 2022 and the 0.3 percent rate from October 2023, according to DOT.
The airlines with the least cancellations included Delta Air Lines Network at zero percent with just 11 flights canceled in November, American Airlines Network at 0.1 percent and Allegiant Airlines also at 0.1 percent. Networks include branded codeshare partners.
Carriers with the highest November cancellation rates included Hawaiian Airlines at 1 percent, Alaska Airlines Network at 0.5 percent and Spirit Airlines at 0.4 percent.
Airlines in November handled 39.1 million bags and posted a mishandled baggage rate of 0.39 percent, lower than each the November 2022 rate of 0.51 percent and the October 2023 rate of 0.44 percent.
DOT’s November complaint data again was delayed. The last complaint data released was in November for March, April and May. The agency is revamping its system for processing delays and in December said that it anticipated the new system would be operational by January 2024.
