The total number of disability-related complaints during the period from January to September 2015 was 661, compared to 605 for the same period in 2014. Of the 661 complaints during this period, the worst offenders were American Airlines with 120 disability-related complaints and United Airlines with 104, followed at a distance by Delta Air Lines with 62 complaints.
According to US-based National Disability Rights Network, airlines received in excess of 27,000 disability-related complaints in 2014 alone. On average, airlines operating flights to, from and within the US receive over 2,000 disability-related complaints each month, with the majority of cases stemming from outside the US.
Looking at the results that pertain to the US specifically, Hawaiian was the worst offender in September this year with seven complaints out of 781,994 enplaned passengers, followed by Frontier Airlines with eight complaints out of a total of 1,104,931 enplaned passengers. Spirit Airlines received three complaints in 1,418,068 enplanements while JetBlue Airways received two out of 2,633,645 enplanements.
The largest US low cost carrier Southwest Airlines was among the best performers with only eight complaints on 11,612,332 enplaned passengers, demonstrating that the low cost approach, based on tight turnarounds, does not directly translate to a poorer quality of service.
Among US legacy carriers, United Airlines was the worst offender with 23 complaints out of a total of 5,878,639 enplaned passengers, followed by American with 18 complaints in 9,788,483 enplaned passengers, and Delta Air Lines with 11 complaints from 9,583,540 enplaned passengers.
Alaska Airlines (1,813,360 enplanements) and Virgin America (558,549) did not receive any disability related complaints in September 2015.
