Stuck at the Airport? Tips for Holiday Travelers
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According to the US Department of Transportation, the number of long-distance travelers during the period between Christmas Eve to New Year’s rises 23 percent. And between the massive airport crowds and often non-forgiving winter weather, it makes traveling during the holidays all the more stressful. So what happens if you get stuck at the airport during the hectic holiday travel craze?
CheapAir compiled a list of troubleshooting tips to help holiday travelers get out of their air travel pickle and on their way as soon as possible in the rare occurrence of a flight delay or cancellation this weekend or next.
1. Communicate with the Airline
Reconfirm, reconfirm, reconfirm! 24 hours prior to travel, check your flight status and reconfirm with the airline. When you’re headed into weather-trouble spots, keep a close eye on your email – the airlines will reach out with schedule updates. If it’s an option, have those schedule updates sent directly to you via text. If weather is a concern, call the airline and express your concerns. In some cases, they may be able to reroute you to avoid bad weather, usually at no additional charge.
Always check your flight departure status before you leave the house on your travel day! If your flight gets canceled for bad weather, wouldn’t you rather handle rebooking from your armchair at home?
2. Fly Early Morning Whenever You Can Swing It
On any given day, air traffic problems around the airport and the inevitability of some mechanical troubles on particular flights start to affect the flight queue the later into the day you get. During the holiday season, there are more flights, more people and often bad weather delays. So the normal backlog of flights that occurs during the course of the day compounds with the holidays. The flights most at risk of not arriving on time are scheduled afternoon and evening flights – in fact a recent study done by the Department of Transportation over a 5-year period shows that 86.2% of November and December holiday flights scheduled to arrive between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. arrived on time. Flights scheduled to land between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. only made it on time about 67% of the time.
3. Fly nonstop for the Holidays
Connections are often the best value. But if you get stuck in Detroit every Christmas en route to grandma’s place, it might be time to rethink the cheaper ticket. When weather starts affecting flights around the country, it creates problems everywhere. If you’ve got connections in bad weather, you’re more likely to get stuck somewhere else. If you can’t avoid connections, try to choose connecting cities unlikely to experience weather delays, like Phoenix or Atlanta (both of which have some of the best on-time records in the country).
4. Know When to Fold ‘Em
Is this trip nonessential? If you find yourself stuck indefinitely at the airport due to a blizzard and your trip is optional, you might want to cancel altogether and walk away. If the flight you are booked on is ultimately canceled, you are entitled to a full refund for the price that you paid, even if the ticket was non-refundable. On the other hand, if the flight you were booked on does take off eventually and you canceled, you will only be eligible for a credit toward a future flight, minus a penalty. Make sure you understand what that penalty is before you take this option: for domestic flights, most airlines charge $200. There is also no guarantee that the new ticket you buy with your credit will be the same price and the airline is not required to honor the original price.
5. Use Your Phone as a Work-Around
When your flight has been delayed or canceled and everyone starts to form a line in front of the gate agents to get vouchers for hotels or to rebook, do yourself a favor and immediately call the airline’s 800-number while you wait. The gate agents at the airport are dealing with a whole plane (or multiple planeloads) of disgruntled passengers. The customer service staff on the phone are sitting in a call center and are under less immediate pressure. They may also have access to other options than the folks have been given who are in crisis mode. You shouldn’t leave the house without the airline customer service numbers in case of this emergency.
6. Make Yourself Comfortable
This falls in the good news/bad news category. If you haven’t traveled much lately, you might not know that airports are really stepping up their game. In most cases, if you’re stuck in a major hub, you now have lots of entertainment options. Depending on the airport, you might be able to have a massage, get your nails done, take a nap or see a movie. Airport amenities have come a long way. You might even want to buy a day pass for your airline’s lounge. Complimentary drinks, snacks, concierge service and comfy seating can be worth it when you’re stranded and you might find the nominal cost worth the VIP service.