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It was bound to happen (but let’s credit the Wall St. Journal for picking up on it first). Some travelers who were smart enough to book flights way in advance to beat the never-ending fuel surcharge hikes, are now paying a penalty: Because some of those flights have since disappeared. Those flights went “poof” as airlines battled high fuel prices with one of their best weapons: capacity cuts. And it’s not just flights that have been cut; in some cases, carriers have dropped service to entire cities. Meantime, your flight has been cancelled. What do you do? And what will the airlines do for you? Answers — and tips — coming right up. |
We asked the Department of Transportation’s Bill Mosley what happens when a flight is cancelled out from under you. He told us the following:
“If a passenger’s flight is canceled, the carrier must either provide an alternate flight or a refund. If the alternate flight involves a major change in schedule or itinerary, the passenger is entitled to a refund, even if they bought a non-refundable ticket.” — Bill Mosley, DOT
He added that if the passenger accepts the refund, the carrier is under no further obligation in terms of offering an alternate flight.
Just so you know, this policy is not new; it’s been in place since 1996, and was reiterated in a letter to all airlines just two weeks after 9/11 (when the airlines were canceling numerous flights).
BEFORE YOU BOOK: Have you heard (via legitimate news media reports) that the airline you’re thinking of flying on is considering or has plans to cut back flights? If yes, you might consider another carrier. And, if your city is not a major hub, you might consider flying out of a larger airport.
IF YOU’VE ALREADY BOOKED FLIGHTS: Now comes the bad news: you learn the flight you’ve bought tickets for months ago, no longer exists — and, none of the “substitute” flights the airline offers you fits your schedule (perhaps the new flight departs from an airport too far from you, or the new flight time will cause you to miss an appointment or event).
In such cases, you’re out of luck. Unless, you plan ahead — and can be as flexible as possible.
The following are some pre-planning tips, in case you hear the dreaded words, “You’re flight is canceled.”
How to Survive a Canceled Flight
1. Make sure your airline has your contact info: Sign-up for your carrier’s email or phone contact program, so they can alert you as soon as possible that your flight is no longer available. But this is not fool-proof, so proceed to tip # 2.
2. Stay in-touch: Pay attention to media news reports (or blogs like this one); if you hear that your airline is making cuts or is in trouble, don’t wait to be called — call the airline — and ask for information. They can’t tell you anything? Call again. And again or if you are web savvy use the “flight schedule” feature of your ticketed airline and make sure your flight is still “scheduled”.
3. Be first in line with the airline: Everyone on your canceled flight will be trying to reschedule; as soon as you get word, drop everything and call the airline immediately. The first to get through will get the best available alternate flights.
4. Be first in line with your employer: Ask if you can change vacation days to accommodate a new schedule; if your vacation falls during Thanksgiving or Christmas, talk to your employer ASAP.
5. Have a back-up departure plan: Your flight is out of San Luis Obispo, California — could you drive to LAX or San Francisco if you had to?
6. Driving vs. flying: If you have the time (see tip # 5) you might want to consider driving; use that refund for gas, hotels and meals and you will likely still come out ahead.
I wrote about booking issues like this back in May, but I focused on initial bookings and not rebooking once you’ve been canceled.
So, I picked a couple tips for the initial booking that might be of interest to your readers . . .
Fly During Busy Times - That 8am flight to Chicago isnt going away, but maybe that 6a or 10p flight will. When airlines look to cut flights, youll generally see it happen at off peak times. Sure, the flip side here is that the peak times will cost more, but thats the price youll pay.
Dont Book Too Far in Advance - The easiest thing to do is wait until its closer to your travel time before booking. When flights get cut, there will be some advance notice, so if youre traveling within a month, you should be fine (unless you were flying JetBlue to LAX, I suppose). I know this flies in the face of conventional wisdom, and yes, youll have to pay for more this privilege, but it will give you more certainty.
Comment by Cranky Flier — July 7, 2008 @ 7:53 pm
When the airline cancels a flight such can also be an opportunity. Did you initially select a less than convenient time, connection or alternate airport in order to get a lower fare?
Well, if so when your flight is cancelled it can be an opportunity — do not automatically accept the alternate flight offered. Instead do your research and then call the airline:
(1.) Have fares actually gone down? Unlikely, but if so insist on a refund and then rebook.
(2.) Alternate flight the airline automatically rebooked you on not convenient? Look up other flights offered and tell the airline what flight YOU want. If that alternate is also operated by them and is on the same date there is a good chance they will be able to accomidate.
Comment by love2travel — July 9, 2008 @ 4:57 pm
i purchased tickets from newark to Honolulu for $317 apiece. in october. what are the chances this flight is going to take off? can you purchase insurance against cancellation?
Comment by mavisjavis — July 9, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
When you get the bad news have a look for other airlines that codeshare with your carrier. There is a chance they would put you on a partners flight
Comment by Larry — July 9, 2008 @ 7:32 pm
what are my rights when they cancel and you have tickets under their mileage plan?
i had tickets on us airways for xmas and they are pulling out of medford oregon on 8/31.
Comment by paul sagunsky — July 9, 2008 @ 7:38 pm
Regarding #6 Driving vs. flying: If you’re considering driving instead of flying, don’t forget that Amtrak serves many smaller markets, sometimes several times daily. Plus, most train stations tend to be in downtown areas, not in the suburbs like many airports. This may help you save $$$ on cabs and airport shuttles.
Comment by Alika — July 9, 2008 @ 8:07 pm
I booked a European flight with frequent flier miles on Alaska. (So I’m at the mercy of a “Partner” airline. When I called Alaska about a month ago, they looked on the record and told me the flight had been discontinued and I had been rebooked me for passage the next day. (I already paid for 4 nights on room..not three.) I now call about every two weeks to see if it’s still a go.
Can they just keep changing the date and time of travel? Neither Alaska nor the partner airline nofied me; I called them!
Comment by MJ — July 9, 2008 @ 10:27 pm
I had purchased non-stop flights from San Diego to Maui in January for a November departure on Hawaiian Airlines. Just one day out of the blue, I just checked my itinerary and first realized that my seats were different; then I realized that there was no longer a non-stop flight, but I actually had to fly to Honolulu and change planes. I immediately called the airlines and found out that all non-stop flights were being eliminated after Labor Day but they did reassign my seats by which I got better seats than from the original bookings. Needless to say, THE AIRLINES DID NOT CONTACT ME (they had several Phone #’s and my email). So now I check every month for changes, just in case
Comment by Darryl Anderson — July 9, 2008 @ 10:40 pm
I had my Friday evening flight cancelled this past Christmas, and since I fly out of a fairly small airport, the flight they wanted me to “accept” online wasn’t until Saturday morning. I called the airline to see about other options, and just as I was about to give up, they switched me to a flight with their codeshare partner (which ended up being better than the original itinerary!). My return flight ended up getting changed as well, which would have resulted in a very lengthy layover, so once again I called to check on options, and once again as I was about to give up, they switched me to a flight with their codeshare partner. Of course these were quite lengthy phone calls, but as this article pointed out, they are required to offer an alternate flight or refund. Moral of the story: be nice/polite to the customer service reps, but be persistent!
Comment by Crystal Jones — July 9, 2008 @ 11:13 pm
In March I specifically booked on Continental for a non-stop to ABQ. The flight was cancelled and THEY NEVER NOTIFIED me. I had a friend on the same flight and they called and put her on a red eye with a connection. When she told me I called Continental and they said they couldn’t reach me in spite of the phone numbers and email addresses. As a senior I did not want to be on a red eye. They got me another flight at the same cost but not non-stop. I have a close connection which I may not make if the flight is delayed. Rights? We have none. There are now no non-stops to ABQ except red eyes and maybe they are gone too. I suppose I should be grateful that they didn’t charge me more.
Comment by Mary — July 9, 2008 @ 11:23 pm
My international flight was cancelled about a month ago due to the route being discontinued. Although my flight isn’t until December, I had been checking it weekly to see if the ticket price was lowered. When I checked one week, although the flight was still listed on my itinerary, it had otherwise disappeared from the airline website! Not knowing what had happened to the flight, I checked the alternative flights, and then immediately called the airline. Apparently, they hadn’t yet been informed about the route discontinuation or dropped flight! Anyhow, despite the fact that I was using frequent flier miles and had previously been limited to the flight I had now lost, I told them which flight I wanted as a replacement (which was a better choice than the one I lost), and although it didn’t have any frequent flier seats, they put me on that flight anyhow. Even though it is inconvenient, I fully intend to keep checking back weekly so that if (when) this happens again, I’ll be ready.
Comment by Marti — July 9, 2008 @ 11:47 pm
In March of this year, I book a flight for 2 adults/4 children leaving Dortmund (Germany) to Stockholm. Our intended destination was Lund (Sweden), where we would spend the majority of our 3 weeks. This had already required that we drive from Ohio to Toronto, then fly from Toronto to Amsterdam, drive or take a train from Amsterdam to Dortmund, fly from Dortmund to Stockholm, train from Stockholm to Lund (finally!). To make the flight home, we had to go back up to Stockholm to catch a flight to Amsterdam to get back to Toronto.
About a month before our trip, I rec’d an email from the airline canceling our flight from Dortmund to Stockholm. It worked out better in one way because we had originally wanted to just fly directly from Amsterdam to Copenhagen (much closer to Lund) and the airline was able to rebook us on that flight at no extra fees. However, the rail system was not willing to allow us to reschedule our train tickets from Stockholm to Lund, so we lost the money.
On the upside, we survived taking our 4 children to 3 different countries in Europe for 3 weeks and using 3 different airlines!
Comment by Kelly L. Nasdeo — July 10, 2008 @ 7:55 am
My husband and I recently completed a trip to Europe. We had originally booked on American Airlines using frequent flier miles. Our trip began in Indianapolis to CHicago and then on Iberia air to Madrid, Spain and then to Barcelona. When we arrived in Madrid, we went to Iberia and got a print out of our return flight agenda. All looked well. When we arrived after our tour for the return flight, we waited in line at Iberia for about 45 min. until we got to the head of the line. The agent was very kind but said “you don’t have tickets to Madrid”. We were puzzled and so was the agent. We needed to get to Madrid to catch our flight to Chicago. We showed the agent the original AA schedule with the locator number. We also showed her the print out from Iberia. Still, no luck. We were sent to the Iberia supervisor who called his supervisor. Both said that AA messed up and did not transfer the information correctly so we had no ticket. We were sent to the AA counter three terminals away. When I arrived the AA agent was busy with another problem of a similar nature and was booking someone on a flight with Delta to Boston. That person had to BUY another ticket as AA could not figure it out. My flight was leaving at 9:35 am and it was now 9:15 am ( I had arrived at the airport at 7am). The AA agent kept saying he called “Dublin” (he spoke broken English) and they said we were checked in in Madrid so the problem is with Iberia. I knew the flight from Madrid was OK and the Iberia agent had checked us in. Still, I had to GET to Madrid and we needed AA to straighten it out since they are the ones who booked us. The AA agent sent us back to Iberia (3 terminals away). We only had minutes to spare and the Iberia agent said they could not find any tickets and AA was the fault. We had no choice but to buy another set of tickets to Madrid for about $400. and we ran over 70 gates to our gate as a second plane was leaving for Madrid and we needed to catch it. When we got to Madrid, the time was short as we had to take the later flight out of Barcelona. Finally, all sweaty and exhausted, we flew to Chicago. After the 7 hour flight, we got to Chicago and our bags were missing. We found out two days later, they were still in Spain. We checked with the Chicago AA agent and found that the segment from Barcelona to Madrid was left out when AA transfered the information and it said “void” in place of the ticket. The agent said it should be no problem getting a refund on our tickets from AA. As of this date (July 10), we still have not gotten word from AA that they are going to issue a refund despite numerous calls and faxes to the customer care office. I believe that they have had enough time (since June 23) to make this right to us. In addition, for our mental and physical stress, I think they should offer us two complimentary tickets for future use. I hope others do not have the same experience in a foreign country that we had. We felt abandoned by American Airlines and stranded in a foreign country.
Comment by Renee A — July 10, 2008 @ 8:26 am
I assume that “trip cancellation insurance” doesn’t play any role if the airline cancels a flight? Nobody has mentioned that, so I wasn’t sure. C Sykes
Comment by C Sykes — July 10, 2008 @ 8:34 am
Good day:
The airline splays the rules to suit them. When you buy a ticket you have in effect signed a contract. Failure to deliver the serive contractef for is a breach of contract. As some recall the cruise people tried to impose a fuel fee on exiting paid for cruises and lsot their fannies in court. Now if the airlines goes under then the best and probably only recourse is that you paid by credit card. When in trouble U.S. airlines whin to Congress for bailouts and they get the money. This happened after 9/11 and will happen again. When you travel in Europe, Asia or the Middle East you get full service evenon flights under 1 hour.
Comment by K Blit — July 10, 2008 @ 9:54 am
Had a United flight out of Austin on July 2 at 7:00 am to Norfolk, VA, that got cancelled. Didn’t find out until I decided to check the United website at 11:30 pm the previous evening. I agree with Crystal Jones’ comment, BE PERSISTENT. Even after being told repeatedly by the United rep that there were no flights out until the next day because everything was booked (which wasn’t acceptable) and being offered a refund, I kept telling him that was not acceptable and eventually asked to speak to his supervisor. They eventually got me on a 5:30 am flight with Delta. I was on the phone for at least an hour with them and got disconnected once. My biggest gripe was that flights out of Austin for United were still showing up on different websites for that next morning. PLUS when we got to the airport and the United ticket counter finally opened at 4:30 am, the rep behind the counter didn’t even know the flight had been cancelled until I told her and the flight was still on the board. This taught me that the squeaky wheel gets the grease - Don’t give up! Be a thorn in their side.
Comment by Jodi — July 10, 2008 @ 10:02 am
My flight was cancelled which caused me to miss the second leg of my flight also. The airlines said I had to pay to stay overnight in a hotel because they couldn’t get me out until the next day. Do I have to pay?
Comment by Debbie — July 10, 2008 @ 11:35 am
C Sykes - You CAN purchase insurance for flights but you have to read the fine print. A company that I use for my clients will cover flights as long as you purchase the insurance at the same time as the tickets. They also cover for bankruptcy and much more.
Also, one thing that I have found to be of help is booking through a major supplier with a travel agent. As an agent, I get daily updates on every single ticket I book if there are any changes - even gate changes. I can then pass this info on to the clients. This is because the supplier has a vested interest in keeping me happy and they are linked directly to the airlines’ scheduling system. They take care of me because I book in volume with them. Unlike the airlines, they will take the time to contact me because they know I will continue to trust them and steer customers their way! Just this past week I have had 19 time/gate changes to Hawaii alone, but each of my clients is aware as soon as I am.
Bottom line, many people like to book through Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, etc., but did you know that a travel agent can not only often get you a better deal on air to Hawaii or Mexico (our suppliers buy in bulk) but that they work on your behalf to fix things when they go wrong? My clients call me 24 hours a day if they have a problem.
Granted travel agents likely cannot save you money on a simple domestic ticket to the contiguous United States, but we have the tools and the resources to find the best deal for you and oftentimes, I just advise my loyal clients of the least expensive website for them to book through when I cannot save them any money. They are often surprised by fares, flight times, or airports that they never even knew existed. It is the least I can do!
Comment by Cristy — July 10, 2008 @ 1:09 pm
I disagree with the driving vs flying you mention. Xpressjet just cancelled all their flights after Sep 2. To drive from San Diego to Colorado Springs is over 1000 miles, a 2 day journey. The flights were usually $250-300 round trip. In my 2003 Ford Escape, gas at 4.69/gal will cost me about $500. Plus at least another $100-200 for hotel stay since it’s a 2 day drive, $50-100 for meals, and you can see quickly that the 2 hour and 20 minute flight for $300 bucks on Expressjet is irreplacable.
Comment by djrobsd — July 10, 2008 @ 2:35 pm
hey, I book flights from amirillo to dallas.i accidentally delete my flight iteranry from my email inbox.How can i receive an duplicate???????
Comment by Janet lamprecht — July 10, 2008 @ 10:24 pm
Janet, just call the airlines and explain your situation. Once they verify you’re legit by asking certain questions, they can resend your itinerary; then print out a copy plus write your confirmation number on your calender for future reference.
Comment by Darryl Anderson — July 11, 2008 @ 9:36 pm
We have a flight from K.C. to Maui, in Sept. We received an e-mail stating our depture had been changed from 8:05 to 9:10, since this only left a 45 min. plane change window, we called AA. After a little discussion we were changed back to our 8:05 departure, with better seats. Whats with this? We are traveling with freq-miles.
Comment by jim long — July 14, 2008 @ 12:54 pm
On March 29, 2008, I reserved 3 seats on Aer Lingus for May 21, traveling from Dublin to Madrid. I received a confirmation. I had paid for 3 bags to be check at that
time as well. The evening before our flight I went on line to pay for additional baggage and to check in; however the web site would not permit me to make any changes and it instructed me to call the office. The office was closed so I began to call the number listed on the website the first thing in the morning. I attempted to call from a cell phone, I tried from a pay phone until I ran out of coins, I called using the computer, each time I was given the instructions to hit 1, 2 or 3. When
I did I was put back in the loop to press 1, 2 or 3. I could not get through to anyone. No matter what number I pressed I got the same message. I finally gave up
for fear we would be late and left for the airport. When we arrived at the airport to check in they could not find our reservation. I was escorted to a ticket agent where I was informed that my flight had been canceled. My reservations had been rescheduled to a flight departing 6AM instead of 4PM. I was told I was sent emails
that I had not received and that a text message was sent to my daughters cell phone (she did not receive it). I could not believe I was not actually called. I gave
a phone number to be called in case of changes. Why if I received the original confirmation email did I not receive the other emails that were supposedly sent?
According to the clerk at the ticket counter they could not put us on a flight until 4pm the next day and we would have to pay another 129 plus tax per person and she
would try to wave the 45 per ticket transfer fee. When I said this was not satisfactory,I was told this was all that Air Lingus could do for me though I could try another
airline. In fact, I did book with another carrier and got a flight out two hours later than my original departure time and for less money than the 129 quoted by
ticket clerk. Since Aer Lingus failed to operate my flight in a timely fashion or provide me with effective notification, on June 1st I requested a refund in the
amount of $212.04. They say they have the right to change schedules and that’s it. Any suggestions?
Comment by Anne McCormick — July 16, 2008 @ 11:02 am
I took a “free” companion coupon to the airport to get tickets for my wife who was going to travel with me. The airport said I had to call in. I called in on my cell phone and they set me up and said I no longer had to go to the airport. They charged me a reservation fee because the ticket was gotten on the phone. I said, I was at the airport and would get the ticket there to avoid the charge since the reservation was made. Sorry they said, the “free” companion ticket must be made by phone and you cannot avoid the phone reservation fee. The airline was Delta.
Comment by Kirk Greiner — July 19, 2008 @ 10:59 pm