What To Do When Flights Are Delayed or Canceled

Heads up my friends, we’re heading into the worst travel weeks for flight delays, oversold planes and cancellations – ahhhh the joys of holiday and winter travel! This year there’s a new tool to use – TWITTER!  Many of the airports across the US have their own Twitter pages that will give you the most up-to-the-minute information about parking availability, delays, which screening lines are shortest etc.  You should also be checking your airline’s Twitter page for similar fast-changing info.  You can find our new list of airlines on Twitter at our Twitter page WGTravelTips.  The folks at Travelocity are also pitching in to help Thanksgiving travelers.  They’ll have “spotters” at major airports across the country Tweeting updates about airport conditions.

1) Steps You Can Take In Advance of Your Travel
The sad truth is that there are very few legal obligations on the airline’s part to provide for your well-being when a flight is delayed or canceled, so it becomes increasingly important to plan in advance in order to avoid as many disruptions as possible.

• Whenever possible take the first flight of the day.  These flights are most likely to take off on time because the plane arrives the night before and if it is delayed or canceled you will have the most rerouting options.
• If you cannot fly nonstop, consider the connecting city carefully.  In winter choose a city to the south Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas etc, rather than a northern route connecting in Chicago, New York etc.  Allow 45 minutes or more in layover time just in case your first flight is delayed. 
• Be certain to check in by computer 24 hours in advance of your flight.  If you do not receive a seat assignment and boarding pass for any reason, that means the flight is overbooked and you are in danger of being bumped.  Be sure to arrive at the airport early for check in.
• If a major snow storm is expected on the day of your flight call the airlines the evening before to see if flights are being canceled or if the airline has approved rebooking passengers to other flights.  I’ve found the later in the evening I call, the more likely it is I’ll be allowed to rebook the flight in advance of it officially being canceled.
• Be certain you’ve listed your cell phone number in the airline record so they can contact you with flight changes.  Also be sure to sign up for flight tracking and notification services offered by many online booking sites – Orbitz, Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak etc.

2) What If Your Flight is Canceled? (Rule 240 Fact or Myth?)

• When you encounter a canceled flight, much of how it is handled will depend on whether it is an isolated incident, or a broad-based weather related condition effecting all airlines and flights.  The ticket agents have discretionary power to put you on another flight with available seats and/or offer meal and hotel vouchers, so bring out your smile and patience.
• First and most importantly, if your flight is canceled you are entitled to a full refund if you wish to cancel your trip and begin again on another date (even if you’ve purchased a non-refundable ticket).
• If you are at the airport when the flight is canceled, pick up your cell phone immediately and call the airline’s 800 number while you get into line at the ticket counter.  Chances are you’ll make contact by phone faster than waiting in line.  If the line is busy and you can’t get through to an agent on the phone, try this sneaky trick…. at the auto prompts choose the international ticket option, those lines are usually much less busy AND are staffed with senior representatives.  “Whoops, I must have pressed the wrong option, but can you help me anyway?” – works like a charm.
• The airline is obligated to book you on the next available flight with open seats.  If you’re traveling during the holiday season however, those open seats may be few and far between.  In some circumstances the airline will agree to book you on a competing airline, but only if you ask – so be sure to speak up and inquire about alternate airlines.
• If you purchased your ticket through a travel agent or an online travel site, give their customer service number a call and enlist their assistance as well.  As long as you’re in line, you might as well call in all the assistance you can get.
• If your flight is canceled due to inclement weather and you are departing from your home airport, chances are very little will be done in way of compensation.  If however, you are at a connecting airport, or on your return trip, the airline will most likely provide a food voucher if you’re delayed for several hours, and a hotel voucher if you cannot travel until the following day.
• We’ve all heard about the famous Rule 240 and how it forces airlines to compensate you in specific ways.  Sorry to tell you, it is almost an urban myth! Rule 240 is actually the airline’s “Contract of Carriage” and each airline draws theirs up differently.  The rule governing canceled and delayed flights might be section 240, 360, or 999, it will vary by airline.  You’ll find a link to all the major airline’s Contract of Carriage on the DOT website.  You may want to print it out in advance of your flight.

3)  What If Your Flight is Delayed?

• If your flight is delayed because of “force majeure” (circumstances not in the airline’s control – weather, strike, air traffic control, etc) the airline is under no legal obligation to provide support services.  Most airlines will however provide a meal voucher for flights delayed longer than 4 hours.
• Your best bet for getting to your destination is to be friendly to the ticket agent.  If you are facing a long delay, be an active participant – “Can you find me a connecting flight instead?, Does another airline have a flight departing that I might be able to get on?, Would another flight have an upper class seat available that I could upgrade to?, I’ve been traveling for several hours without a meal, would you have a meal voucher available so I could find something to eat during our delay?” etc…  Ranting about Rule 240 and making ‘I’m going to blow my stack’ faces at the agent will get you little satisfaction.

4) What If Your Flight is Oversold and You May Get Bumped?

• Here you are in luck, there are very specific regulations on how compensation must be handled.  If you have checked in for your flight within the designated time frame, and you are in fact “Denied Boarding”, the airline is required to provide a written notice of your rights.  Basically they require that if the airline can get you to your destination within one hour of your original arrival time, they are not obligated to provide a monetary compensation.  For arrivals over 1 hour, up to 2 hours delayed, compensation will be a maximum of $400.  Arrivals delayed over 2 hours the compensation maximum of $800.  If however, the plane you are scheduled to fly is 30 passengers or less, all bets are off.  If you are traveling internationally from the USA, the compensation maximums double.  Flights returning from Europe will follow EU compensation guidelines.
• Airlines will ask for volunteers to give up their seats in lieu of compensation before intentionally bumping any passenger. Often the enticements are quite tempting.  Here are some questions to consider before giving up your seat:
  • Have you checked luggage?  If so, how will you be assured that your bags will be looked after at your destination before you arrive?
  • What seat can be confirmed for you on a later flight?
  • Are they offering a voucher for future travel or cash?  If it’s a voucher, what are the restrictions, black out dates, advance booking requirements, deadline for use, can it be redeemed online or only at an airport? – Go for cash whenever possible.
  • Sweeten the pot by asking for an additional meal coupon, phone call vouchers, hotel room or a pass to the VIP lounge – can’t hurt to negotiate (quietly)!

And after all this, if you have simply been treated badly by the airline you were attempting to patronize, following the excellent recommendations for filing formal complaints that are spelled out on the DOT website .