Bangkok--21 Oct--Aziam Burson-Marsteller
Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) is once again tops across the board when measured against American legacy air carriers that filed reports to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of Department of Transportation (DOT) in the recently released DOT Rankings.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (OAEP) issues “The Air Travel Consumer Report“ monthly to assist consumers with information on the quality of services provided by airlines. The report is divided into six sections: Flight Delays, Mishandled Baggage, Oversales, Consumer Complaints, Customer Service Reports to the Transportation Security Administration, and Airline Reports of the Loss, Injury, or Death of Animals During Air Transportation.
In the August report, which is issued early October, Northwest Airlines finished first among U.S. network airlines with the following rankings:
- Best on-time departures (85.3%) and arrivals (85.3%)
- Fewest mishandled bags (2.92 reports per 1,000)
- Fewest consumer complaints (0.73 complaints per 100,000 enplanements)
- Highest completion factor* (0.5% flight cancellation rate)
Laurie Lofgren, Managing Director, Customer Service and Airport Operations, Asia Pacific, said, “These rankings prove our continued efforts to be a best-in-class operator. We are also doing well at Narita Airport, our Asian hub, by performing at record-breaking levels for on-time performance for 2008 with a year-to-date on-time departure rate of 82.8%**. With this outstanding operating performance and customer service, Northwest continues to be the airline of choice for our customers.”
*completion factor: the ratio that shows the percentage of the flights operated as scheduled, without cancelation.
**the figure is as of end August 2008
The Air Travel Consumer Report The Air Travel Consumer Report is a monthly product of the Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (OAEP). The report is designed to assist consumers with information on the quality of services provided by the airlines. The report is divided into six sections (Flight Delays, Mishandled Baggage, Oversales, Consumer Complaints, Customer Service Reports to the Transportation Security Administration, and Airline Reports of the Loss, Injury, or Death of Animals During Air Transportation). The sections that deal with flight delays, mishandled baggage and oversales are based on data collected by the Department’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The section that deals with consumer complaints is based on data compiled by the OAEP’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division (ACPD). The section that deals with customer service reports to the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is based on data provided by TSA. The section that deals with animal incidents during air transport is based on reports required to be submitted by airlines to the ACPD. Each section of the report is preceded by a brief explanation of how to read and understand the information provided. The report is usually issued during the first week of each month. Oversales are reported quarterly rather than monthly, and oversales figures may be slightly older than the other data in certain months. The report, which contains tables of information, is best printed in "landscape" orientation.
Northwest Airlines is one of the world’s largest airlines with hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam. Northwest, with its regional partners, operates approximately 2,400 daily departures. Northwest is a member of SkyTeam, an airline alliance that offers customers one of the world’s most extensive global networks. Northwest and its travel partners serve more than 1,000 cities in excess of 160 countries on six continents.
For more information pertaining to Northwest, media inquiries can be directed to Sribenja Semmeesook or Satida Sritunyatorn at (66) 2 252 9871 or to Northwest’s Web site at www.nwa.com/th
Mail from:
Satida Sritunyatorn
Media Relations Director
Aziam Burson-Marsteller (ABM)
Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: +66 (0) 2252 9871 ext. 122
Fax: +66 (0) 2254 8353
Mobile: +66 (0) 8 3788 5115