by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:56 PM ET, Thu April 14, 2016
Illustration courtesy of Thinkstock
On Wednesday, the United States Department of Transportation released its Air Travel Consumer Report, which showed there has been progress in more on-time flight arrivals and fewer cancellations, but also more passengers are complaining.
In the Department of Transportation report, it was revealed that 83.6 percent of flights by top airlines in the United States arrived on time in February, an increase from 81.3 percent in January and the 72.8 percent the previous February.
READ MORE: DOT Report Says That Pilots Rely on Autopilot Too Much
In terms of on-time arrivals, Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines finished in the top two spots on the list, with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines rounding out the top five. Hawaiian was the only airline to finish with an on-time arrival rate above 90 percent, at 91.3 percent.
On the other hand, Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways each finished with less than 70 percent on-time arrivals in February, registering only 63.2 percent and 68.1 percent, respectively.
READ MORE: Are Domestic Airlines Hiding Required Complaint Information on Purpose?
While there were fewer late arrivals and cancellations, there was an increase in complaints, jumping from 1,039 in 2015 to 1,113 this year. That may be a relatively good number when compared to the more than 50 million passengers who flew in February, but most people file their complaints to the airlines and not the government.
For the full Department of Transportation study, check out the agency's official website.
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