Harry Raymond Cowperthwaite asked: Do you travel by air often? If you do, you have probably experienced your flight being delayed a few times or so. Delayed flights can be frustrating and airlines get a lot of bad publicity when they have many flights that fail to depart and arrive promptly. The United States Department of transportation keeps this type of record and makes it public on a regular basis. In many countries in Europe, newer and stricter rules have been put in place when it comes to compensating travelers for delayed flights.
If you fly a lot, flight problems aren’t a usual thing. Despite the bad rap airlines get, majority of their flights depart from and arrive to their destinations in a timely fashion. Know, though, that problems do occur, so you need to be prepared for when your flight gets cancelled. And should your flight get cancelled, remember to keep your cool; it can be very frustrating, but you won’t get any sympathy or change anything if you scream at the airline agents who are already trying to do the best they can to help you and the other passengers who are on the same delayed flight.
So what should you do if your flight is delayed? It depends on the reason for the delay. If the delay is air-traffic in nature (e.g., congestion), majority of airlines are not going to be able to do much because air traffic control (ATC) delays are not something they can control. It’s the same thing if the delay is caused by bad weather. Again, the weather isn’t something the airlines can control. They can help you to re-book you to the next flight with available seats, but don’t expect to be compensated for weather delays.
Other reasons for delayed flights are mechanical problems with the plane, crew rest problems, and computer problems with the check-in. If it’s a mechanical problem, wouldn’t you want them to get the problem fixed before the plane flies? In any case, it’s a good idea to find out what your carrier will do in case of delay by reading the “Contract of Carriage” before you fly. This contract enumerates passenger rights when the flight is delayed.
In most cases, you can be on your way after an hour or so delay. However, what if you’re on a connecting flight and the flight delay is going to cause you to miss a connecting flight or two? If you think you are going to miss your connecting flights as a result of a flight delay at the initial airport, let the gate agent know right away.
If many other passengers are going to miss the same connecting flight, the airline may hold the connecting flight for a brief time, but you shouldn’t count on this happening. Because airlines get bad rap for flight delays, they usually choose to leave a few passengers behind than report a delayed flight.
If the airline can’t hold the connecting flight for you and the other passengers, an alternative is to ask the airline agent to re-book a new connecting flight for you. If the line is long at the counter, get on your cell phone and call your airline’s reservations number. You’ll probably get re-booked that way much more quickly.
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