Continental Airlines continued to lead the Transportation...

Continental Airlines continued to lead the Transportation Department’s complaint list, with 1,541 complaints lodged against it by passengers during July. Northwest Airlines was second with 948 complaints. Continental has led the list in recent months. All told, 5,995 complaints were made against U.S. air carriers during July, compared to 932 in the same month last year. Industry analysts believe that the greater number of complaints compared to last year is due both to a lower level of service because of airline mergers and to publicity about the airlines’ troubles.