With delays and over sales on the rise on a continual basis, the holiday delays seem to be a daunting process for most travelers this year. In early October, 2009 the Department of Transportation released a statement declaring that flight cancellations, bumps and delays are at the highest rate that they have seen in more than 14 years.
The slow grind to halt of the economy lead to a slowing trend in the sale of flights, more planes have been grounded, flights have been cut, and they are selling more tickets for remaining flights which have resulted in overbooking. And lets not forget the incident earlier this week (the second time this year) where an FAA computer glitch caused 100’s of flights to be canceled or delayed.
With the holiday season directly ahead of us, there is not much that you can do if your flight is delayed, or canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. But there are some steps that you can take in order to minimize your risks of becoming a stranded passenger.
The Bureau Of Transportation Statistics web site gives you a comprehensive breakdown of all flights that have been canceled, delayed or on time at every United States airport for the past ten years. You can use the Bureau Of Transportations holiday flight filter to see what delay and cancellation trends have been recorded during holiday seasons in order to avoid flights and airports that have frequent cancellations or delays.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association also has a comprehensive web site that has a live stream available displaying current delays and cancellations, a section for advice from the Air Traffic Controllers, tips and tricks to avoid delays, and a place for you to voice your complaints. You can also sign up on their web site to receive updates and alerts for your desired airports.
More quick tips on avoiding delays:
1. Avoid connection flights, If you must have a connecting flight, select one with 90 minutes or more for your lay over.
2. Depart on the earliest flight possible. This will not stop a cancellation, but can allow you to have additional flight options through the duration of the day.
3. Arrive at the airport early. Print your boarding pass at home if possible, this will speed you through the process and give you less time to wait for check in.
What you can do if your flight is delayed or canceled.
1. Remember that when your flight is delayed or canceled, the ticket agent has no control over the cause or decision made in that accord. All they can do is work with you to find a solution. Remain calm, professional and rational, the ticketing agent wants to help to get you to your destination and will usually do everything they can to assist you. Be persistent, but be patient.
2. Some airlines offer compensation, but in most cases they are not obligated to since they can not guarantee their schedule. Work with the airline and its agents to see what accommodations they can provide, meal vouchers, hotel vouchers etc. if you will be delayed by more than four hours.
Additional resources on preventing delays cancellations and bumps:
- http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-5707-SF-Travel-Tips-Examiner~y2009m10d2-Number-of-passengers-getting-bumped-from-flights-up-40-percent
- http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-5707-SF-Travel-Tips-Examiner~y2009m10d4-Over-sales-cancellations-bumps-delays-and-winter-weather-heading-our-way
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Comments
I will tell you this - I used to plan trips with as short of a layover time as possible...UNTIL I had a flight delay flying out of San Francisco, which, lets face it, is terrible to fly in and out of during winter. That delay ordeal was a mess a headache and in my top 5 of bad flight experiences...that being said, these tips are definitely helpful.
Good tips for all the travelers out there. It certainly is going to be a messy holiday season the way it is sounding and travelers could really benefit by these tips.
A few suggestions:
!. Buy your ticket from the airlines, not the online discounters. If you have to re-book, you are in a better position if the airline can rebook you and if you book with them directly, they may book you on another carrier. Good luck if a third-party is involved.
2. Buy travel insurance and make sure that it is with a reputable company as their are horror stories of non-payment.
3. When all else fails and you have an unresolvable issue, Chris Elliott, National Geographic Traveler's ombudsman is the master at resolving travel issues. He is at Elliott dot org.
I've learned over the years that the best way to avoid holiday travel crowds and delays is....don't travel!! Though this year may be better with fewer flights and people taking to the air. Great research and writing Jen!
ah, sleeping on the floor of an airport; looks familiar.
Great tips here..I hate those airport chairs for sleeping purposes. Nice info article..
Cheers..
We're staying in town this year so fortunately we won't have to deal with the holiday travel.
Thanks for the advice. I'm traveling this holiday season, and hope long delays aren't in my future! If I do get delayed, I will use your tips.
Excellent tips. Thank you.
One issue I found, getting stuck for hours and hours in Kennedy in NYC after an international flight, is that once our luggage was checked through, they would not put us on any other earlier or later flight. We'd gone through customs and rechecked the bags before we knew the delay was there. I only we had kept our bags until we saw that the flight was really on time.
Delays are never fun. It once took me 20 hours to fly from San Diego to NYC via MSP. They gave me meal vouchers. On the way back home, it looked like we were finally going to leave on time. We have even pushed back on schedule from the gate at LaGuardia Airport. Then the captain announced that his first officer had become violently ill and had to return to the gate. It was another missed connection and yet another 20 coast to coast flight, longer than many trips I have taken to Europe. They did give me meal vouchers again, and when I wrote to NWA WorldPerks later, they added 10,000 frequent flyer miles to my account. I always enjoy your stories. Good job!
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