Picture this: you’ve planned and enjoyed an amazing vacation. It’s the night before you head home, you check in to your hotel, have a nice dinner, get checked in for your flight, and head to bed. Sound familiar? Us, too. However, when your alarm goes off at 4 am and you check your phone, you have an unusual notification from your airline: We’re sorry to inform you that your flight has been canceled. *gasp* *insert preferred expletive(s) here* Oh no, now what?
If you haven’t experienced this scenario, particularly when your alarm goes off at 4am for an early morning flight, trust us: it’s not fun. So many things rush through your (still foggy) head at the same time it can be a little disorienting. While we’ve had pretty good luck with most of our flights thus far (barring the 2 week missing luggage Scotland trip of 2019), our recent trip to Spain ended more eventfully than we would have wanted. So, let’s go through our situation in the hopes of being able to help you all, if only so you have more information during this time of wild flight mishaps.
Here are our recommendations:
- Don’t panic. Unless governments are collapsing or the sky is raining fire, there probably are other flights to be found. That said, it can take some acrobatics to get them, but in most cases, not all flights are canceled. That might seem obvious, but when you first hear your flight is canceled, it can seem like you don’t have any alternatives, but in our experience, that’s rarely the case. In fact, most of the time when our flights are delayed or otherwise interrupted, we almost immediately get a text/e-mail from the airline letting us know they’re already looking for new flights for us. Shortly thereafter we get our new itinerary. And again, this usually happens before we even get off our connecting flight. Nice.
- Have a plan. In our case, we booked our entire trip through United, but the first leg on our return home was operated by Lufthansa. United is part of the Star Alliance, so while Jason was jumping on the phone to get in line with an agent, Tasha was looking up flights, focusing on Star Alliance team members. By the time Jason got through to an agent, we had a few different options we could work with and presented them to the agent. Some of them didn’t work out, which is why it’s good to have multiple options. This can also make life easier because you’re doing some of the work for them so you’ll spend less time on hold while they try to figure it out for you.
- Brace for contingencies. What we didn’t realize was that, at least in our case, because our first flight was operated by Lufthansa, United wasn’t allowed to let us rebook with a different partner airline, or even with United themselves, even though we booked through and paid United for our tickets. This was the first we’d heard of this and need to look a little more into the rules. In any case, we were leery about this, as Lufthansa canceled our flight (and others) due to internal chaos (they were randomly canceling 2000 flights in July due to staffing shortages). But that was our option, and so we had to work with our agent to get things squared away. In the end, we were able to get on a different schedule the following day, albeit on a different, less agreeable route.
- Be as flexible as you can. We’re fortunate that it’s just the two of us traveling and we have a lot of flexibility in our schedules over the summer. So having to wait until the next day isn’t the end of the world for us, though we know that’s not always the case for everyone. Also, our original flight plan took us from Madrid to Frankfurt (~2 hour flight) to Chicago (~9 hour flight) to Springfield (~2 hour flight). Our new schedule had us going from Madrid to Munich (2.5 hour flight) to Houston (11.5 hour flight) to Springfield (~1.5 hour flight). So, a much longer day than we had anticipated. On top of that, our premium plus seats on the flight from Frankfurt to Chicago were demoted to Economy on the new flight from Munich to Houston (yes…the longer flight, groan), the very back of the plane in fact. Was this frustrating? Yes. Did we pay extra for those better seats on the original flight? Also yes. I explained this to the agent and because we’d had a plan in the first place, we had looked up the aircraft and knew there wasn’t a premium plus cabin on this plane but there were open exit row seats. I mentioned this to the agent on the phone and asked if they could put us there rather than at the back of the plane. Not only did she investigate it but managed to get us in those seats for no additional charge. After we get home, we can worry about asking United to refund us the difference in seat price. The agent also told us there was one open business-class seat and it was possible that someone else in the cabin wouldn’t make the flight, so we should ask at the gate the next day to see if we could (pay for an) upgrade. We didn’t do this in the end since we at least had extra leg room in the exit row. So, while this was not the flight or seats we paid for, this new plan will still get us home, which is the important part. The rest can we worked out later.
- Be quick. Keep in mind that an average plane will carry a few hundred people. If your flight is canceled, that means their flight is also canceled, so all of them will be looking for other options. Beyond that, it’s reasonable to assume yours might not be the only canceled flight. All that’s to say, as soon as you find your flight is canceled, get on the phone with an agent or, even better, if you’re in the airport run (don’t walk, R-U-N…there’s no shame here) to the customer service desk so you can get to the front of the line. Front of the line means you get the first crack at the available options.
- Keep your cool and be nice. We know, this is the hardest part. But keep in mind that whatever agent you speak with isn’t the reason your flight was canceled. It also wasn’t your flight crew’s fault. It also wasn’t the fault of your fellow passengers (unless they’re unruly and need to be removed from the plane, in which case the stink-eye is completely appropriate). So, when you talk to the agents or whoever, make sure you’re staying calm and remembering to say please and thank you. This even applies when you seem to be getting the runaround (like when you book through one airline and the flight is operated by another…5 hours of good times). In our experience, being nice and thanking people (a lot) can go a long way in convincing those folks to help you. Sure, it’s their job, but that doesn’t mean they have to go above and beyond to help make things happen. To that point, know your limits: if you aren’t the coolest head in your travel party, hand the phone to someone else. Been on the phone for a while and your patience is tapping out? Tell the agent you’d like to have someone else talk to them and hand the phone to another in your party. Just remember: that agent wants to help but also wants to be treated with respect and kindness, just like everyone else.
- Get that money! Know that you might not be entirely responsible for the costs you incur for delayed and/or canceled flights. For example, many airlines will reimburse you for a certain amount of expenses (if certain situations happen, for certain covered expenses) because they’re legally required to do so in certain parts of the world, like Europe. Also, check with the credit card you purchased your flight with, as it might have trip delay/interruption/cancellation insurance, meaning they’ll reimburse you for a certain amount of money per person, often in the neighborhood of $500 apiece. That comes in handy if you have to stay the night somewhere and need to eat and/or buy clothes until you can get your luggage back. Also keep in mind that some hotel chains have a stranded traveler rate (not all, but some), so if you have to pay for a hotel (which may or may not be reimbursed by your airline or credit card), it never hurts to ask as it can save you some money.
- Multiple methods. One thing to keep in mind is there are multiple ways to connect with an airline to correct your schedule. If you’re in the airport, you can head to the customer service desk. If you’re still at the hotel, you can pick up the phone and call an agent. But your phone also works in the airport, and your internet might, too. So, even if you’re waiting in line at the airport, give their phone line a call, too, as it might be quicker than the line you’re standing in. At the same time, have someone you’re traveling with see if they can get on the airline’s chat tool. What we learned is that an airline probably can’t have multiple agents changing your schedule at the same time, which means if you get through on the phone and at the customer service counter, you’ll probably need to hang up the phone or move out of line. But, the bigger thing is that by using multiple methods to connect with the airline, you might speed up your ability to actually talk to someone and get things moving. We’ve also heard rumors of people using social media to get an airline to communicate with them, but we’ve not had experience with this so can’t comment on it.
We get it: traveling can be stressful. And, once your travels are coming to an end, the only thing you want is to get home, sleep in your bed, and visit your furry 4-legged dependents to make sure they haven’t forgotten who you are. The last thing anyone wants to hear is that your return trip isn’t going to happen the way you expected. Still, this is one of those circumstances where cooler heads really do prevail, so keep that in mind and know that you will get home…eventually.
