FlyersRights has a suspicion the absence of required information on some airlines booking websites may be an attempt by major US carriers to mislead passengers, enabling them to steer away from unreliable flights.
Giving consumers a choice to stay away from flights that are shown to be unreliable when it comes to on-time performance is a selling point and a concern for consumers, specifically when it comes to connections.
Hudson says the mysterious disappearance of this data on some airlines’ websites is concerning and may be intentional.
The Department of Transportation requires large U.S. airlines to show how often particular domestic flights are disrupted when customers search their websites.
In a recent investigation by US News magazine Newsweek they found that the information is often hidden behind nondescript links and sometimes does not appear at all. The DOT requires reliable data to be listed on search results pages or via a “prominent hyperlink.”
United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Hawaiian Airlines told Newsweek they were “fixing bugs” on their online portals when confronted.
Delta and Southwest Airlines provided the data required, but were hiding links and not clearly naming such links leading to this data.
The airline industry’s trade association, “Airlines For America”, provided a statement. They assured travelers, that U.S. airlines are committed to providing a positive experience “from the first search to touchdown.”