Fewer flyers being bumped

Domestic airlines are bumping passengers off flights at the lowest rate since 1995, according to a new federal report — a decline that may be partially attributable to the fallout from an April episode in which a man was dragged off a United Airlines flight.

The 12 domestic carriers that report data on the number of passengers who are involuntarily denied boarding posted a bumping rate of 0.44 per 10,000 passengers during the second quarter of 2017, according to the Transportation Department. That was the lowest quarterly rate since such record-keeping began more than two decades ago, officials said in a statement.

By comparison, the airlines posted a bumping rate of 0.62 per 10,000 passengers in both the second quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017. The previous low had been 0.50, during the third quarter of 2002.

Although airline officials offered varying explanations for the decrease, a United Airlines spokeswoman said the company had “absolutely learned” from the April 9 dragging episode.

“The effort that our team has put toward really focusing on our customers is evidenced by these numbers,” the spokeswoman, Megan McCarthy, said in a telephone interview. “We will continue to do that work and make improvements.”

McCarthy said 957 passengers were involuntarily denied boarding in April, “a very challenging month.”

But at the end of April, weeks after the dragging episode, the airline put several new customer-focused initiatives in place, including one aimed at decreasing overbooking and another allowing United employees to offer up to $10,000 in travel certificates to those willing to volunteer to change flights.

In May, McCarthy said 61 passengers were bumped; in June, United bumped 46. The airline expects the number of involuntarily bumped passengers to remain low, she said.