Flight cancellations upend journey plans for tens of millions of Americans annually, with tons of flight disruptions attributable to staffing shortages and winter climate. This put up covers the right way to keep away from being impacted, what to do to enhance your probabilities of a profitable rebooking when your flight is canceled, and the right way to decrease complications. (Updated December 26, 2022.)
According to flight-tracking platform FlightConscious, over 17,000 flights all through the United States have been cancelled to this point through the Christmas journey week. This is especially resulting from extreme winter climate throughout a lot of the United States, which introduced snow, ice, excessive winds and bitter chilly across the nation, grounding flights from coast to coast.
While winter storms have hit airways exhausting over the vacation journey interval, that hasn’t been the one difficulty. Unexpected fog on the West Coast and staffing shortages, along with the winter climate, had a ripple impact on flights across the nation. From Wednesday via Christmas Eve, roughly one-quarter of Southwest’s flights had been canceled and two-thirds had been delayed, making it some of the negatively impacted airways.
On Monday (December 26, 2022), greater than 1,700 flights had been canceled and a pair of,200 extra had been delayed, down from practically 3,200 canceled flights and seven,700 delayed U.S. flights on Christmas. Every airline has been impacted–Delta, American, United, JetBlue, Alaska, and Southwest all reported considerably extra cancellations than regular. Meanwhile, it was simply an unusual week for Spirit and Frontier, which aimed to take care of their customary 50% delay or cancellation fee.
Joking apart, it hasn’t helped that the worst of the climate and cancellations got here on a few of the busiest journey days of the yr; this was compounded by carriers planning lighter schedules for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. That has made it harder for the airways to rebook vacationers on different flights, as there wasn’t a lot spare bandwidth or empty seats–many flights over the weekend and thru this coming week main as much as New Year’s Eve are already totally booked.
With this in thoughts, right here’s our recommendation for minimizing the impression of delays and cancellations–and bettering your odds of a speedy restoration…
We have flown quite a few occasions within the final a number of months–and have had a number of flights cancelled throughout that point. In our years of touring, we’ve confronted (and defeated!) quite a lot of flight disruptions, together with a number of hours earlier than a flight to Japan and whereas connecting the day earlier than a Disney Cruise Line voyage out of Copenhagen that had us reenacting Planes, Trains and Automobiles (minus the cars).
With these staffing shortages and flight disruptions unlikely to abate anytime quickly (a few our cancellations had been through the offseason at occasions when provide/demand shouldn’t have been a problem), we thought it might be useful to place collectively some suggestions of what we’ve realized from our previous experiences. Obviously, not all of that is going to be instantly useful–particularly for those who’re at present stranded on the airport–nevertheless it’s doubtlessly helpful data to have for future bookings, too.
On that word, let’s start with the reserving course of. For starters, e book nonstop flights every time doable. The purpose right here ought to be self-evident; fewer flights equals fewer potential disruptions.
That gained’t be an choice for a few of you, as there should not nonstop routes between your metropolis of origin and the vacation spot. However, you might need extra selections for those who’re prepared to drive a bit farther to a bigger airport. For instance, when touring to and from Southern California, we frequently select LAX over SNA although the previous is farther away. It’s additionally extra of a “pain” on the bottom, however often fewer issues the place it issues–within the air.
If you haven’t any alternative however to e book a flight with a connection, strive to take action in a hub metropolis. (If you’re unfamiliar with which airports are hubs for every airline, Google your service of alternative + hub cities.) In the occasion that your connection does get cancelled, you’ll be higher off caught in a metropolis with a better flight quantity.
Conversely, attempt to keep away from cities the place inclement climate is extra prone to trigger a disruption. Atlanta makes for a greater layover in December than Chicago. You may also need to construct in a little bit of a buffer together with your layover–that shorter flight period is likely to be engaging, however 40 minutes is slicing it shut when there’s even a minor delay.
Next, e book with the airline straight. This isn’t a problem for these of you who fly Southwest, however it may be an issue with different airways.
On event, it’s doable to discover a deal on flights by way of Expedia or different reserving engines on flights. There are discounted packages that embody some mixture of airfare, lodging, and floor transportation. We would strongly discourage you from reserving these, until they provide super financial savings that you just can not cross up.
The downside with these packages is coping with a 3rd occasion when making an attempt to rebook a flight. You’re going to have two issues. First, lengthy phone wait occasions (measured in hours, not minutes), as these reserving engines are nearly universally understaffed. Second, you’re going to get the runaround. The reserving website will attempt to cross the buck to the airline, and vice-versa. There’s a <10% probability you’ll get the difficulty resolved with one telephone name.
If you realize us, you realize we’re extremely frugal and are big deal hounds. However, we additionally know the worth of our time and value of inconvenience. To that finish, there is no such thing as a financial financial savings that may persuade me to roll the cube and e book a flight by way of Expedia or one other reserving engine. None.
To every their very own, however I’ve heard and witnessed sufficient horror tales to make the identical mistake myself. As a lot as I like saving cash, I like not pulling my hair out in frustration extra. I merely don’t have sufficient hair left to sacrifice any extra of it! If there’s a bundle low cost, you may be sure there’s one other means to economize–go for that different.
Speaking of offers, I not too long ago may’ve saved $60 by flying from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Orlando by way of Frontier. Unfortunately, the flight had a layover in Denver (sure, Colorado) and Frontier didn’t function any flights out of GRR the next day. Suffice to say, that felt like enjoying with hearth, so I paid the $60 further for a nonstop flight. For me, that was price the additional $60 for a completely uneventful (and far shorter) flight.
Generally talking, that is additionally one in all a number of the explanation why I’m averse to low-cost carriers. It’s not as a result of I take pleasure in losing cash. Rather, since these low-cost carriers usually fly fewer routes, don’t have reciprocal relationships with different airways, and are much less responsive when points come up since they compete on value and never customer support.
Fast-forward to post-booking, roughly 24 hours earlier than departure. We’d advocate beginning to periodically try the standing of your flight and the flights earlier than your flight beginning at the moment. Many airways have a “where is my plane coming from?” hyperlink proper of their dashboard.
Failing that, FlightConscious has a function for tracing again your flight together with an interactive “Misery Map,” each of which may also help anticipate disruptions earlier than they’re posted to your flight standing.
Now, you shouldn’t freak out and name the airline to rebook if there’s a 20 minute delay practically a day prematurely of your flight, but when inclement climate or one thing else is clearly going to be a problem earlier than your flight standing is up to date, it would behoove you to proactively name and try making an adjustment.
Many airways will accommodate, particularly as soon as it’s apparent to them there might be systemic delays or cancellations; shifting ahead your flight primarily quantities to lowered future burden for them.
On the day of your flight, ensure you might have the airline’s official app and are signed up for textual content message and push notifications about your flight standing. In addition to the redundant alerts, having the app may be useful for shortly rebooking in case your flight standing is formally modified to delayed or cancelled. In such a state of affairs, you’re primarily competing with different impacted clients; quick motion in that capacity-constrained surroundings provides you a bonus.
Beyond that, customer support telephone strains are notoriously short-staffed proper now. By the time you’re in a position to get via, it is likely to be too late or your choices might be way more restricted. (If there’s no button to rebook in your airline’s app, strive contacting them on social media earlier than calling.)
If none of that works, or for those who’re already on the airport, head to a self-service kiosk or converse with a reserving agent. Ideally, try to do each.
A self-service kiosk is likely to be sooner, however a human agent will often have extra choices, together with doubtlessly rebooking you on one other airline. (For the latter strategy, it’s extremely useful if you have already got a flight–with availability–in thoughts.)
In “advice that should be obvious,” be well mannered when chatting with a customer support consultant. For one, it’s the proper factor to do. For one other, you catch extra flies with honey than with vinegar. In different phrases, for those who’re asking for an lodging over which the agent has a level of discretion, your odds of success are considerably larger for those who’re good.
If you’re touring with a number of adults, know your strengths and play to them–for this reason I head to the self-service kiosk whereas Sarah talks to an agent! People have a tendency to love her extra, whereas computer systems lack the sentience (for now) to dislike me.
This has been our strategy over time, and it has nearly at all times labored out. The solely occasions we’ve gotten stranded had been eventualities when that was our greatest plan of action and it didn’t actually matter to us.
There are additionally different ‘advanced level’ issues we’re ready do by advantage of bank cards and/or touring steadily, comparable to having standing with sure airways and entry to membership lounges the place strains are nonexistent and brokers typically go above and past. That’s extra long-term technique (helpful for quite a lot of causes) than near-term recommendation, although.
With that stated, typically none of this recommendation will show fruitful. There’s actually no option to salvage the state of affairs–some extent at which additional efforts turn into a headache-inducing waste of time. I’d hazard a guess that proper now could be a kind of occasions all through a lot of the United States, as the amount of cancellations is so excessive, as is the diploma of demand.
There merely aren’t a ton of fine options that haven’t already been booked. On high of that, customer support reps have probably taken abuse from individuals who didn’t learn the “advice that should be obvious” above, and are much less prone to exit of their means to assist–even for those who’re essentially the most well mannered individual ever.
That’s simply the best way it goes typically, through which case you possibly can both maintain attempting to swim upstream within the hopes of getting fortunate, or minimize your losses and rebook one other flight out of pocket (if out there) or head off to a lodge. In this state of affairs, one closing suggestion is to learn the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Consumer Guide to Air Travel. If you’re touring inside or from one other nation, do a fast Google seek for nation title + journey invoice of rights (or one thing like that). Many international locations have imposed sure minimal airline necessities for compensation and addressing delays or cancellations.
More than the rest, the recommendation we’d supply is to attenuate the chances of your flight being delayed or cancelled, put together prematurely for it anyway, and develop a plan for what to do when it occurs. This will allow you to be decisive within the second, implementing your technique as shortly as doable to (hopefully) obtain the most effective end result.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you skilled any flight cancellations or noteworthy delays whereas touring through the spring break season or when there’s inclement climate? What’s your technique to cut back the probability of journey disruptions? Any different suggestions or anecdotal recommendation/experiences for addressing and overcoming cancellations which may come up? Do you agree or disagree with our recommendation? Any questions we may also help you reply? Hearing your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!