According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics complaints about airlines were up 47.2% in the first six months of 2007.

By far the most popular complaint was over delays, missed connections, and cancellations— resulting in 2,011 complaints from Jan-June 2007, almost twice the 1,045 from Jan-June of 2006. Mishandled baggage complaints were up too—from 923 in the first half of 2006 to 1,348 in 2007.

Which airlines are being complained about the most?

Shocking no one but themselves, US Airways managed to take the top spot as the most complained about US airline, beating United Airlines (#2), American Airlines (#3), Delta (#4) and Northwest (#5). Aloha Airlines was the least complained about airline, followed by Southwest and ExpressJet.

Ranked separately by the BTS, British Airways was the most complained about foreign airlines, drawing 137 complaints—81 of which were about baggage handling—by far the most common complaint for that airline. For those of you who do check baggage, you might want to make note: American Airlines leads the carriers in baggage-handling complaints with 209, followed by Delta with 171, and United with 160.

Did an airline ruin your day? Don’t forget to complain to the US. Department of Transportation so that your complaint can be added to their report.

Air Travel Consumer Report (PDF) [BTS]

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