Travel Tip 151

How to avoid and deal with delayed and cancelled flights

A lot of us will be in the air this summer, so it’s time to start planning for worst case scenarios.

I recommend planning road trips this year.

Airlines and airports are looking even worse than usual, so I recommend avoiding when possible. (Solo road trip tips coming next week). If you have to fly, plan your trips very carefully. Fuel shortages, World Cup Games, wars and general global chaos may make us wish for the days when the biggest problem with flying was a 4-hour TSA line.

Here’s my top seven tips for how to reduce your risk of delays and cancelations - and how to deal with them if they do happen.

Running to make a connection and finding the door closed but plane still there is the worst. Avoid at all costs!

1. Buy direct flights.

You have zero chance of missing your connection if you don’t have a connection. Easy to say, but not always easy to do. I always take a direct flight if there’s one available. Even if it costs more, I think it’s worth it. Having to get of a plane and either run to catch another or sit around in an airport for a few hours is a big cost in my opinion. I’d rather shell out a bit more money though I often find that direct flights cost the same or even less.

For all its clouds and rain, Seattle is never in the top ten of worst airports in the US.

2. Consider which airports you could connect in.

If you have to layover somewhere, be strategic about it. Some airports fare better than others in terms of how often travelers get stranded there. This is usually due to poor management or to geography. 

Poor management should be fixable, but if you’ve seen any news about Newark in the past year, you won’t be surprised that Frommer’s rated Newark as the worst airport in the US. The good news is that Atlanta wasn’t in Frommer’s ten worst airports. My mom always says that it doesn’t matter if you go to heaven or hell, you’ll have a connection in Atlanta.  

Geography that brings bad weather can’t be fixed but can be avoided. The first year I lived in Istanbul I bought flights through Chicago with connections to Seattle or Boise. Then I got caught in a snowstorm and started buying my flights through Los Angeles. Yes, a direct flight from Istanbul to Los Angeles is long (16 hours) but it was worth it. LA just has better weather than Chicago. A study of 10 years of weather-delayed flights in the US showed that San Francisco (SFO), Newark (EWR) and Chicago (ORD) are consistently the worst. 

Getting to the airport for a 6am flight can be torture, but it’s worth it to see the sunrise and know you’re avoiding delays.

3. Buy the earliest flight you can.

I hate getting up at 4am, too. It’s horrible but if I think it can save me from a day of delayed flights, I’ll do it. As the day wears on, one flight delay bumps several others which each bump several others. You get the picture. The later in the day, the more likely your flight will be delayed or cancelled. 

Buying directly from the airline makes dealing with delays and cancellations easier - though it’s never easy.

4. Buy your flight directly from the airline.

This is more about how to deal with delays and cancellations, but it’s just as important as how to avoid delays and cancellations. I used to try to play the game of cheap fares with various websites and apps, but the extra $10 or $20 you save buying a cheaper fare is only worth it sometimes. The times it’s not worth it, it’s really not worth it. Third party websites and apps may seem cheaper up front, but they can’t save you like the airline can when fuel shortages hit the fan. 

I have more nightmare stories about buying from Orbitz, Hopper and the like than I could possibly fit in this newsletter. Just take my word for it. Buy your flights directly from the airline.

The minute one of my flights was delayed, the Delta app sent me a notification. It also showed me how my connecting flight had already been rebooked. I didn’t need to call Delta or get trip support, because everything I needed to know was in the app.

5. Download the airline’s app.

Regardless of how you bought the flight, download the airline’s app and upload your flight information. Most airline apps give you notifications if your boarding gate changes, if there are delays, and other essential information. They also have ways to report delayed or lost luggage directly to the airline and ways to contact them directly to reschedule or rebook flights. 

Using apps are now safer than calling the customer service number that an internet search feeds you because scammers have been finding ways to get their numbers in search results. Never give your credit card number or any personal information to somebody whose number you got in a search. Scammers get sneakier all the time.

Always check if your credit card has lounge benefits. This isn’t sponsored, but if anybody at Delta wants to gift me lounge access contact me!

6. Buy flights with a credit card that has travel benefits.

I’m not in the credit card recommendation racket, so I won’t tell you which card to get. However, you should be buying flights with a credit card that has travel benefits like insurance for lost or delayed luggage, automatic refunds for cancelled or significantly delayed flights, and other kinds of travel insurance. Always check the fine print on your credit card benefits.

My friends Kelly and Enrique take the cake for unique bride and groom outfits and I went several days early to be sure to be there.

7. If you’re flying to an important event, go a day or two early.

If you’re traveling for a wedding, reunion, interview or other important event, go early. If your flight is on time, you get a free day to be a tourist. No matter where you’re flying, there’s something interesting to do or see there. I was once stuck in Omaha and found they have a great zoo. If your flight does get cancelled or delayed, at least you’ll probably make it to the wedding on time.

New Guidebook: The Rough Guide to Chile

Did you see my update of the Rough Guide to Chile is out? Things get to Peru slowly, but I finally have my author copy and am thrilled with how it turned out! Use my author code AUTHOR0018 for 30% off on the Rough Guide website.

Related article: The 25 Best Things to Do in Chile

If you’re considering a trip to Chile this year, read my list of the top 25 things to do and see before you buy flights. Chile is such a long, thin country that you might have to do most of your in-country travel by plane.