Delayed. Cancelled.
As a business traveler, you’ve experienced it. There is no getting around weather delays, especially this time of year with summertime storms. From fog to hurricanes, delays and cancellations are just an inevitable part of traveling.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, extreme weather, such as hurricanes, only accounts for 6 percent of delays or cancellations. Most flight delays fall under the category of National Aviation System (NAS). From January 2009-January 2010, non-extreme weather accounted for 65.63 percent of those delays. There are three legitimate reasons for weather delays: bad weather at your departure airport, at your arrival airport, or at the airport where your plane is coming from.
Airlines are not required to do much for you if there is a delay or cancellation because of weather. In the airlines’ Contract of Carriage, Rule 240 deals with circumstances in which you are entitled to airline compensation. The airlines interpret that rule differently, but by law they are required to give you some compensation in specific circumstances such as being bumped from a flight that is oversold.
Weather does not fall under Rule 240. Instead weather is considered force majeure, or an event beyond reasonable control in which airlines can cancel, divert or delay any flight without liability, except to refund tickets in the original form of payment or rebook on another flight, which does not necessarily have to be the next available one.
If you have a travel agency, they are on your side and could be a huge help in getting you to your final destination as quickly as possible. Owner and CEO of Corporate Travel Planners, Christy Prescott, said, “There is nothing worse than flight delays due to weather. You could be in Dallas where the sun is shining and not a cloud in the air waiting on a flight that is delayed in New York because of weather.
“Have you ever been in that situation? I have, and the best thing about having a travel agency is that you can call them and find out why your flight is delayed and get the status of your connecting flight. They can also make recommendations to re-route or even re-book on another airline if necessary. In my experience the airports do not give you all the information and options.”
While you can’t control the weather, here are a few tips to be pro-active in dealing with delays or cancellations.
Book direct flights. Odds for on-time arrival are greater.
If you have to connect, make sure layover time allows for adequate transition time to get between gates. There’s nothing worse than running the mad dash through an airport in a business suit or dress and heels.
Sign up for airline updates via email, text or voicemail. When you can turn your phone back on while taxing to the gate, you will be alerted to gate changes, delays or cancellation. This gives you a few extra minutes to rebook with the airline or through your travel agent.
Be nice to the gate agent or airline representative. They might give you club passes or other compensation.
I posed the question to business travelers, “What do you do if your flight is delayed or cancelled?” on my Facebook and Twitter. “People watch,” “laptop,” “Internet” and “read” all got multiple mentions. Here’s a few comments:
Jay – “Nothing like noise cancelling headphones and fully charged IPod stuffed with books and podcasts during weather delays.”
Jon – “Look for the reclining seats close to bathrooms and to have a power outlet close to your seat is a must. If you have the miles, the lounges are nice. Also if you don’t have the miles, you can buy day passes for $50 usually. Most airports now have free WIFI.”
Ted – “Blackberry, Laptop, AirCard, Headphones, IPod, and the bar!! Did I miss anything?”
Johanna – “If you are really stressed and must get some work done - we ALL always have our laptops with us and connecting to the Internet is easy so you can get your work done.”
Eddie – “Make sure your cell phone battery is charged, have a back up charger (the kind that use double AA for a quick charge). Have your charger cord for your laptop available. Keep change in pocket just in case.”
Jeff – “First thing be kind to the folks at the gate and ticket counter. Regardless about what they tell you about rules they are in charge of your destiny and can make your life easy or tough … and it’s all about your attitude. On more than one occasion, I’ve had the gate person say ‘since you were nice, we’ll put you in first class on the next flight’ or something to that effect. It’s not that person’s fault that it rained that day.”
Wishing you sunny skies and smooth travels on your next business trip.
