flight was canceled UGHHHHHH

A few questions. What airline? Was July 7th the earliest they offered you or was that your preference. Very sorry this happened to you.

That is terrible! What was the reason for the cancellation? Depending on the reason and the airline, you might be eligible for compensation under EC 261.

The airline was Delta. We had quite a few travel miles so we went with them. We usually have good luck with this airline. They did not give us a reason for the cancelation. The earliest the airline could give us was Sunday, but that was with MULTIPLE stops which is a bit ridiculous since JFK has a lot of direct flights to Dublin. The whole thing is a mess. As far as cancelation fees, I am going to try get Delta to pay the fees.

I'm sorry that happened to you. I've been reading about the cancellations and delays occurring in the northeast corridor and Washington, DC area. Combination of weather, an overheated FAA cable and FAA staffing issues. Not very encouraging for the summer travel season.

To answer your question, I used Custom Irish Tours in 2019 for a one day private tour of Glendalough, Avoca and Powerscourt. I don't remember our driver's name but he was great and since it was a private tour, he was able to amend things as we went along. Derek, the owner of the company was very responsive over email and his company had been recommended to me by a former RS guide. https://www.customirishtours.com/.

Thanks Trotter for the info. I'll check them out.

It is unlikely that Delta will pay cancellation fees, but that doesn't mean you might not have some alternatives.

First of all, did you buy travel insurance? There should be coverage there. Do you have a good travel credit card? There is often travel insurance that comes included with the card as well. It would be beneficial for you to find out what coverage you may have.

So they did offer a flight within a few days and you chose the July 7th date. That makes me feel a little better about Delta. Was part of the issue that they had to find another flight that could be purchased with frequent flier miles?

I am so sorry for this very difficult situation that you find yourself in.

I thought cancelling my flights 6 hours before departure “for technical reasons in London” was bad. You took the prize.

If this happens in the future see if the airline will rebook you on another airline. That’s what British Airways did for us in May. It wanted to rebook us on a partner airline flight the next day, but that would have messed up all sorts of reservations past the free cancellation date. Being very pleasant with the customer service agent got us rebooked on an IcelandAir flight that departed about the same time as our original flight and actually arrived a few hours earlier due to a shorter layover.

Carol now retired,
t is unlikely that Delta will pay cancellation fees, but that doesn't mean you might not have some alternatives.

First of all, did you buy travel insurance? There should be coverage there. Do you have a good travel credit card? There is often travel insurance that comes included with the card as well. It would be beneficial for you to find out what coverage you may have.

So they did offer a flight within a few days and you chose the July 7th date. That makes me feel a little better about Delta. Was part of the issue that they had to find another flight that could be purchased with frequent flier miles?

Delta offered us a trip days later with multiple layovers which would mean that we'd lose quite a bit of the vacation. We're currently in NYC, but we're from Buffalo so we don't really want to spend $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to stay here when we don't want to be here - we come all the time, so it's not like a fun vacation ... more like a wallet sucker ;)

We don't have travel insurance, but Delta did send us an email stating that we could be compensated "hotel, meal, or transportation expenses as a result of the flight disruption". I'm not sure how much then will pay out, but we will try!

Part of the issue was that we needed a flight with travel miles, but the agent we dealt with was extremely nice and she tried to help us. It's not what we wanted, but at least we're scheduled to go ... fingers crossed we actually make it.

I think you were given a line about needing availability for points. My understanding is that this is a typical ploy, but not the letter of the law. I am not sure of any complications in the fine print due to weather. But, if the airline cancels, they need to rebook regardless of points or no. You are not required to wait for “points availability”.

You could post the question on FlyerTalk, lots of people there with lots of info and strategies. Or, just move on and hope for no repeat experience with this!

Nonetheless, I am sorry this happened. Tuesday’s weather caused a lot of cancellations. I hope you can salvage your plans. I know I would be very upset and disappointed. Best to you, I hope the next attempt works out !

I don’t think there is any “law” on frequent flier miles tickets. You are bound by the terms and conditions of their mileage program, and generally that includes a provision that if you need to be re-booked on a different flight there must be reward seats available. Sometimes an individual airline will make an exception, and “open up” more reward seats to accommodate a stranded traveler, but they are not required to. It is one of the downsides of flying with miles, unfortunately. But we fly that way anyway.

If you are checking the forum while traveling, and don't have a Political Mural tour scheduled in Belfast, you can just stop in the Visitors' Bureau across from City Hall and they will help you out. We had an excellent tour from Billy of ValuCabs - not a traditional black taxi, but we saw everything we wanted and he told many stories of his experiences growing up in The Troubles. We had not scheduled ahead of time since Belfast was our first morning in Ireland and we weren't sure of the timing.