After , Denver-based Frontier Airlines decreased its passenger complaints and held its on-time performance relatively steady in October, according to .
Consumer complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation against Frontier fell 45.8 percent from September to October, to 3.69 complaints per 100,000 boardings. Year over year, complaints were down 18 percent.
still ranked toward the bottom for complaints among the top 13 U.S. carriers. Only Spirit Airlines ranked worse. But Frontier made progress in closing the gap with the rest of the pack.
In September, the bottom three airlines in terms of complaints — Spirit, Frontier and American Airlines — posted complaint rates of 11.57, 7.51 and 4.15 per 100,000 boardings, respectively.
In October, Frontier was much closer to American’s 3.1 than Spirit’s 11.71.
Alaska Airlines, the best performer among the U.S. carriers, had 8 total complaints in October, or 0.43 complaints per 100,000 boardings.
Frontier spokesman Jim Faulkner said officials have made changes in recent months in hopes of reducing complaints, including expanding the operation hours of its central baggage service to 4 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. seven days a week.
“We’ve looked at everything, top to bottom, throughout the company,” Faulkner said in an e-mail.
Frontier arrived on-time 85.1 percent of the time in October, down a hair from the 85.8 percent the airline posted in September. , when Frontier was operating in the 60s and 70s.
It was enough of a difference, though, for Frontier to fall two spots to No. 9 in the U.S. carrier rankings. Both American and Skywest Airlines leaped ahead of the ultra-low-cost carrier.
Delta Air Lines was October’s most punctual airline, with an on-time rate of 92.1 percent. The average was 87 percent, according to the DOT.
Overall at Denver International Airport, 87.5 percent of arrivals and 85.1 percent of departures were on time.
Emilie Rusch: 303-954-2457, erusch@denverpost.com or @emilierusch
