Regardless of the big selection of accessible instruments to stop wheelchair injury, airways proceed to mishandle massive numbers of mobility units — within the first eight months of 2023, some 31 units per day have been delayed, broken or destroyed.

Usually, I assessment these statistics on an annual foundation — see the 2022 Rating of the Finest and Worst U.S. Airways for Wheelchair Customers — nonetheless, transferring ahead, I’ll start monitoring this information every month to carry carriers accountable. Disabled vacationers don’t get a break day from the ache and struggling attributable to a broken wheelchair; airways shouldn’t get a break from accountability on this web site.

Based mostly on DOT information from November 2021 by way of October 2022 utilized in my 2022 rating, right here’s how carriers stacked up with regard to the frequency of mishandled wheelchairs:

1. Allegiant — 0.40%
2. Delta Air Traces — 0.83%
3. United Airways — 1.06%
4. Alaska Airways — 1.46%
5. Frontier Airways — 1.65%
6. Southwest Airways — 1.77%
7. American Airways — 2.02%
8. JetBlue Airways — 5.11%
9. Spirit — 5.60%

Turning to the 2023 calendar 12 months, information from the DOT’s month-to-month Air Journey Shopper Reviews has revealed that, within the first eight months of 2023, some carriers have made large progress in limiting injury to wheelchairs, whereas others have continued to lag behind. Right here is the total information set:

From January to August 2023, the ten largest U.S. airways have carried a complete of 544,561 private mobility units, mishandling 7,602 of them, or 31 per day, for an business common charge of 1.40%. Right here is an early 2023 rating of carriers based mostly on the frequency of wheelchair delay, injury or destruction utilizing the accessible information:

1. Allegiant Airways — 0.06% (9 mishandled of 14,314 carried)
2. Delta Air Traces — 0.68% (890 mishandled of 130,887 carried)
3. United Airways — 1.20% (1,176 mishandled of 98,287 carried)
4. Hawaiian Airways — 1.51% (108 mishandled of seven,160 carried)
5. Southwest Airways — 1.65% (2,206 mishandled of 133,679 carried)
6. JetBlue Airways — 1.67% (334 mishandled of 20,004 carried)
7. American Airways — 1.83% (1,730 mishandled of 94,436 carried)
8. Frontier Airways — 1.88% (350 mishandled of 18,629 carried)
9. Alaska Airways — 1.92% (388 mishandled of 20,170 carried)
10. Spirit Airways — 5.88% (411 mishandled of 6,995 carried)

5 carriers — Allegiant, American, Delta, JetBlue and Southwest — lowered the frequency of mishandled wheelchairs in 2023, whereas Alaska, Frontier, Spirit and United noticed a rise. Hawaiian Airways, which mishandled wheelchairs 1.51% of the time and ranked fourth amongst all carriers, was added to my information set for the primary time.

Spirit Airways continues to be an outlier, mishandling 5.88% of wheelchairs in 2023, up from 5.60% in 2022. This information level raises questions and leads me to consider that the provider might not be holding correct monitor of the full variety of wheelchairs and scooters which might be enplaned — Spirit serves greater than 3 times the passengers of Hawaiian, does it actually transport fewer wheelchairs?

Every month, with the discharge of the DOT’s Air Journey Shopper Report, we’ll monitor the progress of airways with regard to wheelchair injury and, within the first quarter of 2024, a extra holistic view of air carriers’ 2023 efficiency will take form, as we take into account the broader image together with frequency of incapacity complaints, misplaced baggage, delays and extra. Will Delta Air Traces retain the highest spot within the general rating of greatest airline for wheelchair customers, or will one other provider pull forward on the energy of those extra metrics?