Last year Comfort Airlines had twice as many delayed flights as the

Question

Last year Comfort Airlines had twice as many delayed flights as the year before, but the number of complaints from passengers about delayed flights went up three times. It is unlikely that this disproportionate increase in complaints was rooted in an increase in overall dissatisfaction with the service Comfort Airlines provides, since the airline made a special effort to improve other aspects of its service last year.

Which of the following, if true,most helps to explain the disproportionate increase in computer complaints?

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the disproportionate increase in customer complaints?

(A) Comfort Airlines had more flights last year than the year before.
 
(B) Last year a single period of unusually bad weather caused a large number of flights to be delayed.
 
(C) Some of the improvements that Comfort Airlines made in its service were required by new government regulations.
 
(D) The average length of a flight delay was greater last year than it was the year before.
 
(E) The average number of passengers per flight was no higher last year than the year before.

Comfort Airlines 
 
  Step 1: Identify the Question

The question asks you to explain the disproportionate increase so this is an  Explain the Discrepancy  question.

Step 2: Deconstruct the Argument

2X delayed flight

but 3X complaints

(prob not due to dissatisfaction)

Step 3: Pause and State the Goal

On discrepancy questions, the answer should provide an explanation for the surprising situation presented in the argument. In this case, the right answer should provide a reason  why complaints increased at a higher rate than delayed flights .

Step 4: Work from Wrong to Right

(A) This answer provides a potential reason for the increase in the number of delayed flights: more flights. It does not, however, help explain why the complaints increased disproportionately to the number of delayed flights.

(B) This information helps explain why more flights were delayed last year: due to the bad weather. But it does not explain the disproportionate increase in complaints. If anything, you might expect fewer complaints per delayed flight because customers would know the delay was from the bad weather (something outside the airline’s control).

(C) The reason for improvements in service does not help explain the disproportionate increase in complaints. Whether these improvements were mandated or voluntary, they should, if anything, reduce the number of complaints.

(D) CORRECT . Consumers are probably more likely to complain if delays are longer because longer delays represent a greater inconvenience. If delays were longer last year, it would not be surprising that the customers’ complaints increased at a greater rate than the number of delayed flights because   customers would be more likely to complain about the delay  .

(E) If flights had more passengers on average, it would make sense for the number of complaints to increase more than the number of flights (more complaints per flight). This answer excludes that possibility.

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

Lots of questions about A and D, so let's take a step back and make sure we understand the argument. First, identify the conclusion: "It is unlikely that this disproportionate increase in complaints was rooted in an increase in overall dissatisfaction with the service Comfort Airlines provides." Why is this unlikely, according to the author?

"Last year Comfort Airlines had twice as many delayed flights as the year before, but the number of complaints from passengers about delayed flights went up three times." - If all other factors remain the same, we would expect that  doubling  the number of flight delays would also  double  the number of complaints. Instead, flight complaints went up THREE TIMES. Why? Perhaps customers were dissatisfied with other aspects of the airline's service and not just the delays? 
 However, "the airline made a special effort to IMPROVE other aspects of its service last year." Thus, we would not expect the number of complaints about other aspects of the airline's service to go up.

So what else could explain the disproportionate increase in complaints?

This might explain why the airline had twice as many delayed flights last year, but we still have an unexplained discrepancy: If the number of flight delays was doubled, why was the number of complaints tripled? (A) might be true, but it does not resolve the apparent discrepancy.

Ah, before we were only considering the NUMBER of flight delays, not the LENGTH of those flight delays. Maybe in the year before last, the average length of the flight delays was relatively low. Thus, only a small portion of customers felt the need to complain. If the average length of the flight delays was HIGHER last year, that might prompt more customers to complain.

In other words, if the NUMBER of flight delays doubled but the LENGTH of those delays remained the same, then we would only expect the number of complaints to double. But if the number of flight delays doubled and the length of those delays INCREASED, we would expect more than twice the number of complaints.

Choice (D) resolves the apparent discrepancy and is the best choice.

broall · Answer

Hard to understand the argument well :-D

Premise: Last year, 2x delayed flights, but 3x complaints The service was improved Conclusion: The complaints weren't about the service The correct answer needs to explain the complaints not about the service but about other factors besides delayed flights (A) Comfort Airlines had more flight last year than the year before. This choice is irrelevant to the argument. This choice can't explain the disproportionate as the argument stated. (B) Last year a single period usually bad weather caused a large number of flights to be delayed. Same as A. Bad weather caused a large number of flights to be delayed, then this information could just explain the 2x delayed flights last year. However, it can't explain why there were 3x complaints about delayed flights. It should be 2x complaints, not 3x. (C) Some of the improvements that Comfort Airlines made in its service were required by new government regulations. This choice helps to explain that the Comfort Airlines' service was improved last year. However, this choice can't explain the 3x complaints arose last year. (D) The average length of flight delay was greater last year than it was the year before. CORRECT as POE. Also, this choice suggests that there is a possible alternative to explain the disproportionate: There are more complaints last year because passengers not only complained about delayed flights but also complained about the longer delayed time that they had to wait for. This choice makes sense since there are two possible cases: Case 1: There were some passengers made complaints more than once since they had to wait for more time. Case 2: In the year before, although there were some delayed flights, few passengers made complaints since they just had to wait for short time, ie half an hour. Last year, there were 2x delayed flights, and almost passengers made complaints since they had to wait for such a long time, ie several hours. These two cases could explain well the disproportionate as the argument stated. (E) The average number of passengers per flight was no higher last year than the year before. If the average number of passengers per flight remained no change, it supposed that the complaints should be 2 times as the year before. Hence, this choice can't explain the paradox.

egmat · Answer

Passage analysis  
 Last year Comfort Airlines had twice as many delayed flights as the year before ,
Last year, Comfort Airlines had many delayed flights
Last year, the number of flights delayed was double the number of flights delayed the year before that.
 but the number of complaints from passengers about delayed flights went up three times. 
 Passengers complained about these delayed flights.
Last year the number of complaints were three times the number in the year before last.
 We can infer that though the number of flights delayed doubled last year, the number of complaints about delayed flights tripled disproportionately. 
 It is unlikely that this disproportionate increase in complaints was rooted in an increase in overall dissatisfaction with the service Comfort Airlines provides, since the airline made a special effort to improve other aspects of its service last year. 
This disproportionate increase in complaints was not because of an increase in overall dissatisfaction with the service of Comfort Airlines
because Comfort Airlines put in special effort to improve the other areas of its service last year.
 Conclusion 
Overall dissatisfaction with the service provided by Comfort Airlines is unlikely to be the reason behind the disproportionate increase in complaints by the passengers.

Pre-thinking 
 Strengthen Framework 
Now per our understanding of the passage, let’s first write down the strengthen framework:

What new information will help us believe more in the conclusion
Overall dissatisfaction with the service provided by Comfort Airlines is unlikely to be the reason behind the disproportionate increase in complaints by the passengers.

Given that
Last year, the number of delayed fights of CA was double the number of delayed flights the year before.
But the number of complaints last year was three time the number of complaints the year before.
CA made special improvements to the other aspects of its service last year.

Thought process

If the number of flights delayed doubled, then one would expect the complaints also to more or less double.

In this case, the assumption made would be that the number of total passengers of CA had not been higher last year than the year before (that is the number of passengers had either remained the same or reduced somewhat).

But the number of complaints has unexpectedly risen by three times.

This in spite of the fact that CA made specially improved the other aspects of its service(other than the delay aspect).

So, CA is confident that the unexpected increase in the number of complaints is not because of

The other aspects of the service (they have taken care of that last year itself)
The usual number of delays (had it been because of the number of delays, then the number of complaints was expected to go up accordingly with the increase in the number of flights delayed - twice - and not go up three times).

Then what has led to the disproportionate increase in complaints?

Strengthener

Clearly, there is something else that the passengers are complaining about. Any statement/evidence indicating a factor/reason that could have caused the disproportionate increase will strengthen the airline’ conclusion that the complaints are not because of overall dissatisfaction with their services.

Answer Choices 
 Option A

The passage mentions “the numbers of delayed flights” quite explicitly. Thus the total number of flights does not matter at all to the discussion.

Thus, this is not the correct choice.

Option B

The reason why the flights had been delayed does not matter. We need to find the reason behind the disproportionately increased number of complaints. Therefore, this is irrelevant to the discussion.

Thus, this is not the correct answer choice.

Option C

Why the improvements were made is not important as long as they were made and therefore the disproportionate increase in complaints could not have been related to the service aspect of the airlines. This option does not give any alternative reason behind the increased number of complaints.

Thus, this is not the correct choice.

Option D

This option introduces a factor about the delays that has not been considered in the argument. The argument only looks at the number of delays and the number of complaints.

What about the kind of delay itself?

This option says the delays were lengthier on average and this could have led more than the expected number of passengers to complain about them.

This is in line with pre-thinking.

Thus, this is the correct answer choice.

Option E

The option implies that the average number of passengers per flight was either the same or less than the year before last. This further confuses us. It still does not give the reason why the number of complaints increased threefold if the average number of passengers did not increase.

Thus, this is not the correct answer choice.

guptalavi24 · Answer

D for me

a- out of scope
c-irrelevant
e-out of scope
b- if delay due to weather, passenger should not complaint, because it was not airlines fault.

d- if length of delays were increased, passengers will complaint, even though the same passengers did not complaint to that extant when these flights were delayed for shorter span of time.

282552 · Answer

I am still not clear why A is incorrect. 
I was confused between A and D and ended up choosing A.

For me both A and D needs to assume something to explain the disproportion.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

By saying  “It is unlikely that this disproportionate increase in complaints was rooted in an increase in overall dissatisfaction with the service Comfort Airlines provides, since the airline made a special effort to improve other aspects of its service last year,”  the argument is set up to make clear that the complaints are triggered by delays.
 
So we are faced with an unexplained disproportion. The number of delays doubled, but the number of complaints about delays tripled.
 
(A) Comfort Airlines had more flights last year than the year before.

This choice is tempting because if Comfort Airlines had more flights, then likely Comfort Airlines had more customers. If the same proportion of customers were to complain while the total number of customers increased, then we would have more complaints.

So, if you were looking for a reason for a general increase in complaints, this answer choice might provide that reason.

We are not, however, looking for a reason for a general increase in complaints. The prompt has already stated as fact that the number of delayed flights doubled. It would logically follow that a doubling in delayed flights would result in a doubling in complaints, NO MATTER HOW MANY FLIGHTS IN TOTAL COMFORT AIRLINES HAD LAST YEAR. Only the delayed flights should trigger complaints about delays.

So, this choice does nothing to explain why the complaints about delays would increase more than delays did.

(B) Last year, a single period of unusually bad weather caused a large number of flights to be delayed.

This choice indicates that there was likely a concentration of delays in one time period. A test-taker might construe that concentration as being the cause of the increase in complaints per delay.

It is not, however, clear that such a concentration of delayed flights would cause people to be more likely to complain about delays. Further, one could argue that people who are aware that weather caused the delays would not complain about the delays.

So, this choice does not explain why complaints increased more than delays increased.

(C) Some of the improvements that Comfort Airlines made in its service were required by new government regulations.

While it is possible that a test-taker could interpret this answer choice to mean that Comfort Airlines only takes care of customers because of government involvement and thus has a poor customer service culture, the truth is that this answer choice does not indicate any change from one year to the next year in the attitude of Comfort Airlines toward customers, and therefore it does not explain why there would be a year to year change in the number of complaints.

Further, without additional information, it is close to impossible to reasonably argue that service improvements as a result of government regulation would result in increased complaints about delays. Service improvements should result in a decrease, rather than an increase, in complaints.

(D) The average length of flight delay was greater last year than it was the year before.

Correctly answering GMAT Critical Reasoning questions often requires using some common sense. So, let’s use some here.

It makes sense that the longer a delay, the more likely it is that people will complain about that delay. So, if the number of delays doubles AND the delays are longer, then likely the number of complaints will more than double.

Therefore, this is the answer that explains the disproportionate increase in complaints. Delays doubled, but the delays triggered more than twice as many complaints because the delays were longer.

(E) The average number of passengers per flight was no higher last year than the year before.

What this choice says actually RULES OUT a possible reason for the increase in complaints. If the number of passengers per flight had increased, then that increase could explain why there were more complaints per delay. Had there been more passengers per flight, then when delays doubled, more that twice as many passengers would have experienced those delays. So, in saying that the number of passengers per flight stayed the same, this choice rules out one possible reason for the increase in complaints.

To avoid choosing a choice like this one, which is relevant to the argument but does not answer the question, you have keep clear in your mind exactly what the question is asking you to find.

Therefore, the correct answer is  D

monidip1010 · Answer

Option A. If the number of flights increase, with twice the number of delays, the number of complaints can also increase disproportionately. Let me know if this explanation is ok

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

We are not looking for a reason for a general increase in complaints. The prompt has already stated as fact that the number of delayed flights doubled. It would logically follow that a doubling in delayed flights would result in a doubling in complaints, NO MATTER HOW MANY FLIGHTS IN TOTAL COMFORT AIRLINES HAD LAST YEAR. Only the delayed flights should trigger complaints about delays.

So, this choice does nothing to explain why the complaints about delays would increase more than delays did.

BrentGMATPrepNow · Answer

This is a  paradox question .

So, our first task is to  identify the paradox  (i.e., contradictory premises).

The paradox is that   the number of complaints TRIPLED even though the number of delayed flights only DOUBLED  .
All things considered equal, the number of complaints should have DOUBLED (not tripled).

So, we're looking for an answer choice that resolves this mystery.

Can you think of something that might explain the paradox? If so, then look for that explanation among the answer choices. 
If you can't think of something, check each answer choice, and as you do so,  keep reminding yourself of the paradox  (complaints tripled even though delays only doubled)

(A) Comfort Airlines had more flight last year than the year before.
Does this explain why   the number of complaints TRIPLED even though the number of delayed flights only DOUBLED  ?
No, it doesn't resolve the paradox. 
ELIMINATE A

(B) Last year a single period usually bad weather caused a large number of flights to be delayed.
Does this explain why   the number of complaints TRIPLED even though the number of delayed flights only DOUBLED  ?
No. 
ELIMINATE B

(C) Some of the improvements that Comfort Airlines made in its service were required by new government regulations.
Does this explain why   the number of complaints TRIPLED even though the number of delayed flights only DOUBLED  ?
No. 
ELIMINATE C

(D) The average length of flight delay was greater last year than it was the year before.
Does this explain why   the number of complaints TRIPLED even though the number of delayed flights only DOUBLED  ?
YES!!! 
There were twice as many delays last year  AND  those delays were WORSE than the year before. So, there was even more to complain about!
That explains everything!
KEEP D

(E) The average number of passengers per flight was no higher last year than the year before.
Does this explain why   the number of complaints TRIPLED even though the number of delayed flights only DOUBLED  ?
No. 
ELIMINATE E

Answer: D

Cheers,
Brent

jabhatta2 · Answer

Hi  GMATNinja   GMATGuruNY  - if my understanding is correct, D is correct because the  Ratio  of number of complaints / 1 delayed flight will increase in option D

However, in option B - if many flights are delayed   ALL at the same time   because of the weather - would the  Ratio  of the number of complaints / 1 delayed flight INCREASE OR stay the same ?

I thought the  ratio  of number of complaints/ 1 delayed flight WILL INCREASE because the flights are delayed  "ALL AT THE SAME TIME" . Because everyone's flight is delayed at the same time (i.e. many passagers connecting fights will be missed), the number of complaints / 1 delayed flight SHOULD be higher.

Thats why I selected B

MBAB123 · Answer

jabhatta2 , Not an expert, but see if this helps

Option D - This option explains why the the complaints increase at a higher rate than the delays. If the delay is for 10-15 minutes, it'd still count as a delay but most of the passengers might not even realise it, let alone complain about it. However, if the length of delay is 2-3 hours, then probably everybody would complain about it, essentially increasing the number of complaints per flight (like you've pointed out) Option B - If a large number of flights were delayed because of unusual weather, the passengers probably wouldn't complain about that delay. The airline literally cannot do anything about the weather. As such, I'd not expect the disparity/paradox given in the question. This option just adds more confusion to the stem.

jabhatta2 · Answer

GMATNinja   GMATGuruNY  - thoughts ?

GMATNinja · Answer

You're right about (D) -- imagine you are a passenger, and your flight gets delayed 10 minutes. Are you likely to bother with filling out a formal complaint?

Now, say that your flight is delayed 5 hours. You'd be much more likely to fill out a complaint for the longer delay, because it is simply more of a headache to be delayed for a longer period of time. So, longer delays can account for the above-expected number of complaints.

That's why (D) is the correct answer.

As for (B), your analysis makes a leap too far. All (B) tells us is that many delays happened during a single period of bad weather. We have no idea how many passengers even needed connecting flights, or whether the concentration of delays in the same time period impacted connections differently than more spread-out delays would have done.

So, (B) doesn't really give us a strong reason for why complaints are up so much. The question asks which answer choice " most  helps" to explain the increase in complaints, and (D) is the clear winner.

I hope that helps!

sldisek783 · Answer

Why A is incorrect:

There is a clear correlation between the number of delayed flights and the number of complaints about “delayed flights” (We expect the correlation to be directly proportional). However, we can’t figure any correlation between the number of total flights and the number of complaints about “delayed flights”.

Posted from my mobile device

tarunrathi999 · Answer

Year Before = n, Last Year = 2n
Year Before = c, Last Year 3c

n = number of flights
c= number of complaints

MartyMurray · Answer

Last year Comfort Airlines had twice as many delayed flights as the year before, but the number of complaints from passengers about delayed flights went up three times. It is unlikely that this disproportionate increase in complaints was rooted in an increase in overall dissatisfaction with the service Comfort Airlines provides, since the airline made a special effort to improve other aspects of its service last year.

Which of the following, if true,most helps to explain the disproportionate increase in computer complaints?

Analyzing the passage, we see that it presents a surprising situation:

On the one hand, we have the following fact about delays:

Last year Comfort Airlines had twice as many delayed flights as the year before

On the other hand, we have the following fact about complaints:

the number of complaints from passengers about delayed flights went up three times

So, the number of complaints about delayed flights increased 50 percent more than the number of delayed flights.

Further compounding the surprisingness of the situation is the following:

the airline made a special effort to improve other aspects of its service last year

So, it seems likely that service issues did not trigger people to complain more about delays.

Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the disproportionate increase in customer complaints?

This is a Paradox, or Best Explains, question, and the correct answer will help to explain why complaints about delays tripled even though delays did not triple but, rather, doubled and the airline made an effort to improve service.

(A) Comfort Airlines had more flights last year than the year before.

This choice is temping because we could get the impression that an increase in the number of flights would naturally result in an increase in the number of complaints.

However, this choice doesn't really explain why the number of complaints about delays tripled. After all, even though the number of flights increased, the number of delays did not triple. Rather, as the passage says, there were "twice as many" delayed flights. In other words, the number of delayed flights doubled.

People don't complain about delays just because they are "flights." So, an increase in flights alone would not cause people to complain more about delays. What would cause people to complaint more about delays would be an increase in delays.

So, having seen this choice, we are left still wondering why the number of complaints increased much more than the number of delays.

Eliminate.

(B) Last year a single period of unusually bad weather caused a large number of flights to be delayed.

This choice could be tempting because it explains something.

At the same time, this choice is incorrect because it explains the wrong thing.

We already know from the passage that the number of delays doubled. So, what this choice says about a large number of flights having been delayed last year isn't really anything new.

What this choice does that is new is that it least partially explains why the number of delays increased: there was unusually bad weather.

Of course, we don't need a choice that explains why the number of delays increased. We need a choice that explains why the number of complaints tripled.

Eliminate.

(C) Some of the improvements that Comfort Airlines made in its service were required by new government regulations.

The fact that some of the improvements were required by government regulations may indicate that Comfort Airlines would not have made some improvements without the government's influence. All the same, Comfort Airlines did make those improvements.

So, it's still unclear why people complained more.

Eliminate.

(D) The average length of a flight delay was greater last year than it was the year before.

This choice is interesting.

We know from the passage that the number of delays doubled last year. Now, this choice tells us something else about the delays last year: they were longer than the delays the year before.

So, this choice changes the picture. It shows that people had more to complain about last year than the year before. After all, the longer a delay, the more of a problem it is. So, the longer a delay, the more reason there is for people to complain about it.

Thus, the information provided by this choice explains why, last year, the number of complaints about delays increased much more than the number of delays did: the delays got worse.

Keep.

(E) The average number of passengers per flight was no higher last year than the year before.

We could say that this choice deepens the apparent paradox by eliminating a possible reason for the tripling in complaints.

After all, if the number of passengers per flight had been greater last year than the year before, that fact could have been a reason for the increase in complaints. In that case, there would have been more passengers on each delayed flight to complain.

So, by eliminating that possible explanation, this choice does what is in a way basically the opposite of what we need.

Eliminate.

Correct answer:  D

Saun2511 · Answer

This is so vague, based on delay, we are assuming that this could have been the case. Why did we negate A? Why could we not assume that since it had more flights, more ppl were travelling and hence more complaints would be generated.

GMATNinja · Answer

Good question! The key is to differentiate between trying to explain why there more complaints  overall  and trying to explain why the increase in complaints was disproportionate to the increase in delays. We're asked to do the latter.

The increased flights might lead to more delays and therefore more overall complaints, but it wouldn't explain why there were more complaints  per  delay. Put another way, we need something that shows why the delays that actually happened were so much intolerable. This is what (D) gives us.

I hope that clears things up!

Last year Comfort Airlines had twice as many delayed flights as the

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Last year Comfort Airlines had twice as many delayed flights as the

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards