Flight cancellations - what to expect

A pretty generic question considering how many airlines and countries there are. If you have a reservation, check with the airline to find out its policy. More generically, a lot depends on when the flight is cancelled, I.e., a month or week prior to travel, or while you’re at the gate. If it’s in advance of travel the airline should provide options such as suggesting a new flight or getting a refund. If it occurs at the gate, most likely the airline will try to get you on the next available flight, but if that isn’t possible there are policies and laws that dictate an airline’s responsibility. Why the flight was cancelled will have an effect. Was it due to mechanical or staffing issues, weather related, or in the case of some airports this year, too many people traveling and the airport couldn’t cope.

I feel your pain, Anita. I was delayed by Lufthansa and received a meal voucher that was on our boarding passes. I know Lufthansa’s app explains what is given for the type of delay or cancellation.

Beware of the snarky replies, when you post a comment on this forum.

Sharon

Funny you should ask, I was just going to start a new thread about an email I got today from United, "Please call us." Well I know what that means because it's been happening pretty regularly between connections in Germany or London to SFO since summer 2020. I'm away a few months at a time & sometimes they cut back on flights. In general, the new suggested connections have not been great (and sometimes worse seat assignments, GASP) . So I'm specifically addressing the flights that are cancelled ahead of time. Weather-related is a separate subject. I book 99% through the UA website (it doesn't matter if you're using miles) and I would guess all US airlines operate in a similar way, ie they are responsible to get you where you're going in this situation. I suggest checking the new flight they've usually proposed in your flight details on-line & if you don't like it, start a new search for the type of flight you want, it can even be a different date. Then call them, which I just did & the agent changed the connecting flight to a more convenient time for me, a day later because the connection time was better. No charge. One agent told me many people don't read their emails & show up at the wrong time or even wrong day based upon their original reservation! Go figure. Hope this is helpful & by the way remember there are literally thousands of flights daily that are going on time without incident.

I also got the "Please Call Us" email when my United flight was canceled. I don't typically mind this because I get to choose a new flight, including from options that may have been more expensive when I booked mine.

Interestingly, I caution, their email link led to a web page that showed what it would cost me to choose any given new flight. Unsuspecting travelers might have been led to pay. Instead, as mentioned above, and per their email request to "Please Call Us," the change to a new flight (within some time parameters) was free by phone.

Anita- Just like beofre there are always the possibilities for things to go haywire during travel—weather, maintenance, etc— which could lead to canceled flights or "on the fly" changes.

What has definitely picked up in "post-covid" flying has been cancellations or ammendments with more lead time. Airlines are shifting schedules a few months or a few weeks out, sometimes making changes of a few minutes or a few days. If this happens to you, the airline will automatically rebook you. You can take a look at other options on the same airline/alliance, and if you prefer a different path for the reroute, call the airline and request the change.

To add to what CWsocial mentioned, if you’ve paid for a seat assignment it may take a day or so for the airline’s system to pick it up. Until then, if looking at the new reservation it may show you need to pay for a seat. Patience is key.

My first response wasn’t meant to be snarky. It’s just that each airline has its own policy and different countries have different laws governing an airline’s responsibility.

the airline will automatically rebook you.

That's always been my experience with United. This time they didn't. My booking just sat there until I either chose a new flight online or called. I don't know if that's the "new norm" but it wasn't my prior experience.

In May, British Airways cancelled our Saturday morning Marseille to Heathrow leg and rebooked us on a Friday evening flight. This was with two weeks' notice. After arriving home we went to the BA web site and filled out a claim for hotel, meal and taxi at Heathrow, attaching electronic copies of receipts, and we were reimbursed after about a month. Considering other stories I've heard, this wasn't bad.

It varies. If it is a weather delay, you will probably get no compensation. If it is the airlines fault, you may get something.

If it is a U.S., based airline, the U.S. Dept of Transportation has just created a dashboard to show what various airlines will do in the event of a delay or cancellation:
https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/airline-customer-service-dashboard

If it is an E.U. based airline or your flight starts in the E.U. , you can check EU rule 261 which provides compensation for certain types of delays/cancellations.

In general, you should expect the airline to rebook you. My experience (pre-covid) has ranged from trivial things (e.g., free drinks on flight / meal vouchers) up to a check (delivered months later after filing a claim) under E.U rule 261.

@Laura...that is a terrific link! I had not seen that at all but it's quite helpful if folks are debating about which airline to book with.

I try to fly through airports that cause less problems than others--less delays. For example, I avoid O'Hare and JFK like the plague for connections. Some European airports are also easier to make connections through than others.

We flew to Europe twice in the last year without any problems.