Dealing With Cancelled Flights

Cancelled flights are a problem for all concerned, be you a passenger or airline employee. Airlines generally don’t like to cancel.  It starts a domino effect, not just for your flight, but for flights at down line airports all through the day.  Planes end up in the wrong places with crews that can’t fly them because of time regulations.

Probably the most common reason a flight is cancelled is weather.  Sometimes this is pretty obvious,such as during a snow storm where no one is moving anywhere.

Sometimes you can look outside and the weather looks great.  How can the flight be cancelled for weather like that?  Think about it.  The weather might be bad somewhere else.  Maybe there are severe thunderstorms on the East Coast, and that’s where the flight is coming from.  Maybe the flight is coming from sunny Florida, but it’s coming through a hub in the middle of one of those storms.  Maybe there is a sandstorm in the Sahara or a typhoon in Japan.  Weather anywhere in the world can affect your flight if it is a long haul flight.

Another reason flights may be cancelled is mechanical problems.  If this is the case, you want them to cancel, but it’s hard not to feel frustrated anyway.

Or a flight could be cancelled because there have been delays, and now the crew has been waiting for too long.  There are rules about when they can fly and when they can’t.

If your flight is cancelled, the second you hear that your plane is not going anywhere, call the airline’s toll-free number.  (It’s a smart idea to have it programmed in your cell phone.)  Get into the line at the counter, especially if it’s fairly short, but make that call while you’re standing in line.  There’s a good possibility you’ll get rebooked more quickly on the phone than at the counter where a couple of overwhelmed airline employees are being swarmed by a plane full of disgruntled fliers.

Ask what your options are.  Actually, it pays to have an idea of alternatives before you get to the airport.  True, most times you won’t need to use the alternatives, but with cancelled flights, the sooner you can act on those alternatives, the more apt you are to get on your way while everyone else is still looking them up.

Most airlines will rebook you, with no fees or penalties, on the next flight on which space is available.  Not necessarily on the next flight… the next flight on which space is available.  During holiday periods or really bad weather situations, this could be more than just hours.  If you seen the news the last few years, you know it can even be days!

If the wait seems too long, ask the agent if there might be a seat on another airline.  Remember they are in competition, but airlines will often endorse your ticket to another carrier to try and get you on your way in a timely fashion.  You’ll have the most luck if the flight is on a partner airline.

Should the above not work, I suggest solving your flight problem by connecting through another city or going to another airport.  Remember, all of these suggestions only work if your cancelled flight is pretty much an isolated situation.  If all the airlines are canceling flights, as they must in bad weather, patience is the only thing that will work.

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