How to Avoid Flight Delays and Cancellations
Are you wondering how to avoid flight delays and cancellations? I’m here to help!
Is there anything worse than losing out on some precious vacation time because of a delayed or cancelled flight at the beginning of your journey? Or what about when you need to make it home in time for the holidays or a special occasion, and that is jeopardized because of a flight delay or cancellation?
It’s one of the most frustrating things about traveling, especially because it’s mostly out of your control. And while there’s no magical way to avoid all flight delays and cancellations, there are things you can do to drastically reduce your risk of encountering them and make your travel experience a lot smoother.
As a frequent flyer who used to travel weekly for work and now spends months at a time traveling, I’m no stranger to flight delays and cancellations. However, these tips will help you avoid them!
1. Book morning flights.
Statistically speaking, morning flights are more likely to be on time than flights later in the day. This makes sense when you think about it, because any issues or delays that happen in the morning or afternoon will trickle down to impact flights later in the day. So the earlier you fly, the better off you’ll be.
Data from the Department of Transportation supports this. A new report is released each month sharing the percentage of on-time departures based on time of day at various airports across the country, and flights in the morning always have a significantly higher rate of being on time.
For example, at LaGuardia Airport in New York, flights departing between 6 AM and 7 AM have a 94.2% on-time departure rate while flights departing between 9 PM and 10 PM have a 72.4% on-time departure rate. The early morning wake-up call might be tough, but it’s so worth it to avoid delays!
With a 22% difference in on-time departure rates for morning flights vs. evening flights (and this is consistent across all airports), it’s a no-brainer to choose the early morning flight every time.
2. Choose nonstop routes.
Whenever possible, book nonstop routes rather than connecting flights. Yes, it might be more expensive, but you could be out even more money if you end up missing a trip because of flight issues!
If the first leg or your connecting flight is delayed or cancelled, it can impact the rest of your journey. And even if the first flight is on time, there are no guarantees that the next leg will be!
Booking a nonstop flight reduces the friction points and makes it less likely to experience a delay or cancellation. If you must book a connecting flight because there are no nonstop flights available to your destination, I highly recommend avoiding layovers that are short (I prefer a buffer of at least two hours.)
3. Book airlines with fewer delays and cancellations.
The airline you choose can have a major impact on the likelihood of flight delays and cancellations for your journey. I highly recommend doing some research on the airlines with the fewest delays and cancellations.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics in the US releases annual data about the airlines with the most on-time departures. You can find similar sources online for airlines in other countries.
According to the most recent data, Hawaiian Airlines and Delta Air Lines lead the pack with on-time departure rates of 83.6% and 82% respectively, while Frontier Airlines and JetBlue Airways are at the bottom with on-time departure rates of just 69.5% and 73% respectively. That’s a huge difference!
The airline you choose can increase your likelihood of an on-time departure by up to 14%!
4. Stay aware and rebook quickly.
Make sure you’re getting notifications from the airline about the status of your flight. Sometimes, if there’s a delay, cancellation, or other flight change, you’ll be notified in advance and have the option to rebook.
The faster you can do this, the better. If you’re able to quickly rebook yourself on an alternate flight, you can choose the next-best flight (maybe there’s one leaving just an hour or two later, for example) and you won’t have to worry about as big of an impact on your trip. You can also avoid time spent waiting in line at the airport to speak to an airline representative, or on hold with the airline’s phone support line.
I almost always fly with Delta, and whenever there’s an issue impacting my flight, I’ll get a text letting me know I can rebook my flight at no additional cost. So make sure you have your airline’s app downloaded on your phone and have text messages and notifications enabled so you can take action quickly.
5. Build in a buffer day.
Okay, so these last two tips won’t actually help you avoid flight delays or cancellations, but they will help you mitigate the impact of them on your travels, so I wanted to include them here anyway.
Whenever possible, build a buffer day into your travel plans. For example, if you’re flying to Athens, Greece to take a Mediterranean cruise, don’t book an overnight flight from the US that will have you arriving the next morning when your cruise departs that afternoon. If you miss it, you’re out of luck.
Instead, it’s a good idea to give yourself one full day before the start of your cruise, to account for any potential delays or cancellations. (Not to mention, it gives you time to relax and beat jet lag!)
Same thing goes for another scenario, like flying cross-country for a wedding. Plan to arrive the day before, and that way you’ll be safe in case you lose time because of a flight delay or cancellation.
6. Know your compensation rights.
Finally, it’s important to know your compensation rights in case of a flight delay or cancellation. In the US, it depends on the airline, and you can see everything you’re entitled to on this page.
At the minimum, all US airlines are required to rebook you on another flight at no additional cost if your flight is cancelled or significantly delayed. Most airlines will also offer hotel accommodation, meal vouchers, and transportation if your flight delay or cancellation results in an overnight stay.
If you’re flying on a flight within, to, or from the EU, you’re entitled to similar things from the airline, as well as cash compensation for delays of three hours or more. You can find more details on this page.
How to Avoid Flight Delays and Cancellations
This guide showed you how to avoid flight delays and cancellations.
While flight delays and cancellations are unfortunately out of your control and there’s no foolproof method for completely avoiding them, these tips will help you reduce the likelihood of experiencing them.
Happy travels!
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