Travelling 101 – Being Prepared for Your Next Trip

We know that travelling can be very exciting, fulfilling and even life-changing. 

What should you pack? How can you arrange that big trip with friends and not end up enemies? How do you get to your destination when cancellations and delays conspire against you?

Flight delays and cancellations are unfortunate inevitabilities, especially in summer, when more people are flying and severe weather tends to occur more frequently.

Download your airline’s app, which often shows an aircraft’s location and also posts timely updates on a flight’s status or gate changes. Updates may appear here before anywhere else.

The day of your flight, you can also scan FlightAware, a flight-tracking service accessible by app and website, to get a sense of delays and cancellations across major airports. Keep an eye on the weather, too.

It can help to know what airlines your carrier partners with, in case you need to be rebooked on another airline. In addition to partnerships like code shares, when an airline operates a flight on behalf of another, or alliances, most airlines also have relationships known as interline agreements that allow them to transfer passengers to flights on other carriers.

This information isn’t always readily available online; experts suggest calling an airline’s customer service for more guidance.

Be aware that if you have a ticket with a low-cost airline, like Frontier Airlines, Southwest Airlines or Spirit Airlines, you are most likely out of luck: They generally do not rebook on any other carrier.

  • Check your Transportation Department’s airline cancellation and delay dashboard. This will provide information on what is offered.
  • Customer-service plans for specific airlines (located on their websites, and with links from the D.O.T. dashboard) have further detail about passenger entitlements. You may be entitled to food vouchers, partner hotel stays or transportation.

If a delay or cancellation is the airline’s fault, most major carriers can also rebook you on another airline. A few have this ability regardless of what led to the disruption.

Depending on your home country, you may be entitled to certain things such as rebooking to another airline, being provided a refund, etc.

When a delay or cancellation is caused by the airline, passengers — in most cases — are entitled to a handful of services after wait times have exceeded three hours. Major carriers will provide meals or meal vouchers. And if travelers are forced to stay overnight, most airlines will cover the costs of a hotel stay and associated transport.

But getting what you’re entitled to can be a challenge when hundreds of passengers are lined up and waits for a customer service rep on the phone can stretch to hours. That’s where being strategic can make a difference.

Don’t ask for help at the gate but instead seek out an airline’s service desk. Airport lounges, some of which are accessible by day pass, may also be a swifter avenue to assistance.

When you do reach the customer service rep, be prepared with the specific request for the outcome you want, whether it’s being rebooked on a certain flight or a flight on a partner airline, or departing from a different airport from the one you might be stranded in. Don’t just ask what your options are.

Experts said passengers can also take matters into their own hands, whether that’s booking a hotel or a new flight, and submitting receipts later for reimbursement with an airline’s customer relations team. However, there is some risk that an airline won’t foot the bill so be careful before you decide to go it alone.

In the European Union, flight cancellations or long delays may give passengers the right to either a refund or a replacement flight. There may also be compensation of up to 600 euros, around $660, based on factors such as how long you waited, how much notice you were given about a schedule change, the flight’s distance, and the cause of the delay or cancellation.

The rule covers all passengers, regardless of nationality, and outbound flights from and within the European Union, including on U.S. carriers. On flights into E.U. countries, it applies only to E.U. carriers.

AirHelp, a Berlin-based flight compensation company, has a comprehensive guide outlining passenger rights in many countries.

Any compensation or help offered by the airlines hinges on whether the reason for the cancellation lies within a carrier’s control, such as staffing or maintenance issues. Air traffic control woes and the weather are not. Weather is the leading cause of delays this year to date, and “creeping delays” are the bane of every air traveler.

It may feel unfair, but if your flight is canceled because of a thunderstorm, said Scott Keyes don’t expect the airline to cover your meals or accommodations.