I wrote recently about airline records from the Aviation Consumer Protection Division Home Page, which you can find at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/airconsumer.
This is where you'll find ongoing statistics on the various carriers' performance records covering a wide range of topics. Let's look at flight cancellations, for example; in May, American Eagle led the way with 2.6% of all flights cancelled. Next came Alaska (1.9%), followed by US Airways and Northwest, both with 1.1%. The best record--in other words, the airline with the fewest cancelled flights--was Continental with a 0.2% instance.
One of my favorites is the monthly lost luggage reports, based on complaints filed by passengers. Back in May, the best performer was Alaska Airlines, with 2.46 reports of lost luggage for every 1,000 passengers. Continental came in second best, at 2.62. The others were Delta (2.77), US Airways (2.86), America West (2.95), United (3.02), Southwest (3.5), and Northwest (3.74).
American (3.76) would have come in last if it weren't for American Eagle, which had 8.54 reports of lost luggage for every 1,000 passengers. Scary stuff, indeed. My advice? Take anything you really need out of your packed bags and carry them with you on the plane.
