Best way to reduce flight issues

I don't want to sound unsympathetic, but there is nothing in your power that you can do to avoid delays, cancellations, etc. It's just the reality; both domestic and international and subject to any airline. And moving dates or months isn't going to change that. You can't control the uncontrollable.

We just had an uneventful flight from the west coast to Paris. Our friends had a nightmare of delays from the west coast to Dublin. Our family just flew to Canada. The airline went on strike the week before and thousands of flights were cancelled but their flight went on as normal just days later. Our upcoming domestic flight just got completely rerouted. All these are different airlines and different domestic and international flights. No figuring it out or predicting.

Book layovers of at least 2 hours or more.

If all else fails, roll with it. Stressing won't help. The travel and inconveniences that come with it add to the trip memories.

This is antidotal so take it for what it is.

I have had a whole lot less trouble flying internationally than domestically. Post covid it just seems like there are so many more delays and cancellations. We just flew to atlanta where our daughter lives and it is the first flight here in how long without some issue. The only serious trouble I have had flying internationally involved flying to a domestic airport first. So I try to fly directly to an international destination first, connecting in Europe not US. There are only a handful of routes I can do directly from my home airport.

I also check online my flights frequently before my trip because I have heard of stories of cancellations or changes without notice. But I have only had fortunately the usual 20 minutes here and there changes.

What domestic US airline gave you such a bad experience?

I believe the major “legacy” airlines to Europe are generally pretty reliable. We have flown to Italy 3 times since the pandemic ended, with no issues like you describe. We always fly British Airways, and while there have been some glitches and in several cases a delay, we have never been re-routed. It has never been anything close to an ordeal, just a minor inconvenience. In most cases the delay was due to circumstances beyond the control of the airline—-like Queen Elizabeth’s funeral which severely limited flights into Heathrow on the day we were to fly there from Italy.

Book directly with the airline; if there is a delay or cancellation they are responsible for making it right and getting you to your destination. If you book through a travel agent and there is a problem, you have to go through then for a remedy. But it could be middle of the night in the US when that occurs. And they are not going to help.

What is your home airport and where in Italy do you want to land? :Elle here can help you find good options. The general rule is to allow a 2-hour layover if you need to change planes. But depending on your home airport, there may be direct flights available. Sometimes it is preferable to take one of those even if it does not land at your preferred destination. You can always travel there by train once on the ground, and you may discover some nice places on the way. FWIW, we usually fly into Zurich even to visit Italy. We enjoy he journey between.

As far as timing, for Italy I would always choose May over June or July. Less heat, lower crowds. Lodging costs might be the same, but that is a minor consideration.

We just had a really terrible ordeal flying domestically and ended up stranded, then finally rerouted via numerous flights to get home, among other trauma.................
Are cancellations as routine in Italy as they seem to be in the US now

Not knowing the circumstances of your ordeal, how common it might be, in the US or anywhere else is impossible to assess

The vast majority of flights happen without incident, but there are exceptions., just be mindful it was an exception and don't over react.

Just because a travel agent books your flight, does not mean it cannot be cancelled.

"Keep calm and carry on"

It appears their destination is Tuscany, which should be very nice in May.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/itinerary-for-mother-daughter-trip-through-tuscany-summer-of-2025

Before you race to a travel agent because they’re going to help you when there’s an emergency, ask them a question. do they have 24 seven coverage?

In this day and age but you’re probably going to discover lots of them don’t so when you’re stuck in Italy and it’s three in the morning in the states they will get to you when they get to work at 10 AM. I never use a travel agent. They’re basically useless in the day age but if you want to use one they better have 24 seven coverage.

I have looked at your itinerary on your other thread, and have a suggestion regarding flights. Florence is a small airport with limited service. When our son spent a year there with a university program, he never used that airport. Pisa was much more convenient, or some other airport. You could end up with a complicated flight itinerary to get to Florence, when other airports would be much simpler.

For example, I see Orvieto is in your plans ( excellent choice). There is very good and frequent service into Rome, even direct flights from some US airports. You could fly into FCO ( Rome airport) and head straight to Orvieto for your first few days. You would probably save on overall flight time, and would have more choices for airlines and schedules.

Note that many airlines that serve Florence may have only one flight a day into there. These will never be direct flights from the US; you will have a layover somewhere. If your first flight is delayed and you miss the connection to Florence, you could end up waiting 24 hours for the next one.

As mentioned above, it’s hard to give advice when we don’t know the airline or the situation or what airports work for you. What works for me in the Inland NW will not be the same for you in …where?…Kansas?

However…here’s what I do to try and cut down on “issues”:

Book directly with the airline as mentioned above.

Pay for your flights instead of trying to use points or some kind of mileage program.

Book at least Economy Comfort or First/One/Upper, whatever your airline called their best service. Don’t book the cheapest class of ticket.

Don’t fly on a holiday.

Take as few flights as you can in the US to get to your International hub.

If you have a direct flight from your airport to an International hub take that one even if it costs more.

As mentioned, connect in a European hub if you can.

Give yourself plenty of time for a connection.

Do you feel comfortable sharing what you thought your routings might be and see if anyone on the forum has experience on those routes?

Sorry you had such a bad experience!

Cancellations happen. You can't predict them or prevent them.

However, no airline can leave you stranded. Under European law, if an airline cancels your flight, they must find you an alternative to your destination. If you can't arrivie within two hours of your original scheduled arrival they must supply meal voucers. If overnight, they must supply a hotel room.

Even in the US, the airlines are required to get you on the next available flight. That's not the next flight but the next available flight with empty seats. Meals and hotels may also be included.

The new flights may not be the most convenient but they will get you to your destination.

After years of travel, I know that unpredictable stuff happens that is beyond my control - illness, flight delays or cancellations, etc. The best strategy is to stay calm because if you are stressed you are not thinking clearly about your options. If there is a flight issue, reach out to the airline immediately either at the airport or by phone to get it resolved whichever will be quicker. Do you have travel insurance? We have used the insurance concierge service before to find a hotel room and been reimbursed after the fact. So far we have never been stranded or spent a night sleeping on the floor at the airport but if that happens we will have a great travel story. With travel you have to learn to roll with the punches and just know that everyone involved is doing the best they can to rectify the situation.

Having done it both ways, I will say flying internationally, if there is a layover, is try to fly the same carrier throughout. They will in theory transfer your bags to the next leg of the flight. Using Google Flights or Kayak to handicap your options, to save a few bucks there is the allure to change carriers. IMO, it just adds to the level of stress. I remember our first international flight ever, from Chicago to Rome Fiumicino on Alitalia, then we had to catch some puddle jumper--can't even remember the carrier now, it was 15 years ago!--in 90 minutes to Catania in Sicily. Barely made it--had to get our bags, got in the wrong line, and those Fiumicino workers are dressed to the nines but to a person are very unhelpful!

For next April, our plan is to utilize Lufthansa the whole way, who we've had good luck with in the past. Boston to Munich to Florence; Catania to Munich to Boston. On the short legs they use Air Dolomiti, but under the auspices of Lufthansa. I will check to make sure they will take care of the bags!

I thought I skimmed, but I didn't see this option shared....

The way I have noticed to find the easiest "recovery" from plane problems is to take the long flight first....like....if you're going to Naples, you will have a connection, so take your long flight from Atlanta (where I live) to a connection airport in Europe, and then have the layover there. Because if you are late for that arrival, there are probably quite a few other flights to Naples that day. If you were connecting to go to Rome via Philadelphia (like my friend and I did a few years ago) and there is something wrong with your first flight (like hers got cancelled), you are at the mercy of the few flights that may leave that day (I don't know how many Philadelphia-Rome flights there are but it can't be TOO many). She was set for a 6 hour layover in PHL and they literally couldn't get here there after the cancelled flight, so they had to route her through Chicago, thank goodness she was still able to arrive that day.

More or less, if you can, aim for your layover city to have MANY connecting options, not just one or two.

You could try and figure it out with the numbers. Here are the good and the bad.

https://www.bestbrokers.com/2024/03/06/europes-best-and-worst-airlines-and-airports-based-on-flight-delays-and-cancellations/
https://www.flightaware.com/live/cancelled/

Even with the numbers they dont tell the whole story. I am not sure how late a departure is before the call it a delayed departure. A very good airport that I use a lot ranks pretty bad on late departures. And its true. I dont think that I ever took a flight out that was less than 15 minutes late in departing. But those 15 minutes are partially made up on the flight. I sort of have the feeling that the airlines over estimate the flight time to cover their ________ . Then I usually have a 2 to 3 hour layover so i dont even pay attention the late departures any longer. Now a 2 hour late departure might be a mess, but I can not recall that happening to me until just this year when I did miss a connection.

But in 20 years of very frequent travel, I have missed exactly one connection and had exactly one flight canceled on me. Thats out of I am guessing between 200 and 300 flight legs.

The missed connection was this year and they put us up in a very nice 5 star hotel, we got a good sleep and instead of arriving late and exhausted, we arrived early the next day and well rested and ready to play. So, it was a trade off that wasnt bad. Hard to fault the airline. The flight was to cross over Iran on the same day they were firing missiles at Israel. Better safe than sorry. I noticed on the flight navigation screen, once we did get in the air, that we went sort of the long route around Iran,

The canceled flight was at least 10 years ago. I showed up at the counter and the agent said they had been trying to call me. My flight was canceled but they got me on another that left in 30 minutes ...... so please run! We did, worked as we still made the connection to Europe.

Life is full of all sorts of ups and downs. Try and laugh them off and go with the flow.

Also, if you want the best odds of a quick solution, when you shop for a flight find one that has a second or even a thrid connection option a little later in the day. Make sure you have 3 hours or more between your arrival and that second option.

I dont often do prepaid tours or river boats or the like, so if I show up late it doesnt cost anything. But if thats what you do then the extra caution is worth the effort. All the compensation money in the world isnt going to make up for the fact that you arrived 2 hours after the boat sailed.

We just had a really terrible ordeal flying domestically and ended up stranded, then finally rerouted via numerous flights to get home, among other trauma.

If you are going to travel, you need to be prepared mentally that delays / cancellations may and will happen. Make sure your carryon bag has what you need for a day or three and go with the flow. Trying to control a situation that you have no control over is not going help you.

Does anyone use a travel agent these days? I've already booked our lodging, but might be nice to have someone assist assist with flights whom we could call for help if things get bad again.

In the situation you describe, a travel agent would not be able to help you. The airline is in charge of getting you to your final destination. Be extra nice to the airline agent handling your issue, you never know what they might do for you. Book your flights with the airline.

Agree with KD, this is the reality of flying and there is only so much you can do.

I swore I would never fly with Lufthansa again after they cancelled my flight in 2023 and DID NOT NOTIFY ME until it was time to check in. But reality was reality, so there I was on a Lufthansa flight in 2024, with no problems.

I never book accommodations before flights, but I am sure some people do it that way.
Make sure you layover is appropriately timed, then don't worry.

The odds of an issue are real, but not excessive no matter which airline, route or airport. Just go with the flow. I got a free night in Kuala Lumpur out of my missed connection. Or I could have fretted arriving 11 hours late. All attitude.

@ Lola please. Surely you get my point and it's utility for other people who hear things like "May is better for Italy" as if it were some sort of all purpose advice for the whole country rather than just a fraction of Italy for some travelers who often have unlimited choice for travel dates (not the norm). I'm not going to spend my time digging up people's details who haven't posted them in this thread.

Please understand that I was in no way being critical of, or contradicting, your comments about the Alps in May. And I agree that it is good advice for others. But I wanted to reassure an already-anxious OP that they would not be likely to encounter issues like unsettled mountain weather in a May visit to Tuscany, where they intend to go. Rain perhaps, but that can happen anytime, anywhere

It only took me a few seconds to check on that detail, and I believe it was helpful advice to the OP, who is the main focus of this discussion.

Thank you all for the kind replies. I know we can't control everything, and it's not my first rodeo, but just seems lately things are so bad and we've waited a long time to do this. If there's anything I CAN do to prevent issues, it'll make me feel better and preserve what's left of my sanity, lol.

That said, no point changing dates I think, but would prefer to change airport and skip flying out of FLO if it'll help increase our chances of nonstop flight availability or ability to get new flights in the event of an issue. Flying out of PHL, EWR, or NY area even, is it better chance of nonstop/ preferable to go into Milan or Rome? We're aiming to bring carry on only, so no checked bags to worry about, which should make train travel easier as well. Let me know your thoughts and if you've had good or bad experiences with any particular airline my all means let me know, thanks.

That said, no point changing dates I think, but would prefer to change
airport and skip flying out of FLO if it'll help increase our chances
of nonstop flight availability or ability to get new flights in the
event of an issue. Flying out of PHL, EWR, or NY area even, is it
better chance of nonstop/ preferable to go into Milan or Rome? We're
aiming to bring carry on only, so no checked bags to worry about,
which should make train travel easier as well. Let me know your
thoughts and if you've had good or bad experiences with any particular
airline my all means let me know, thanks.

Check Google Flights for your best options.
That is Florence, SC, right? It makes sense why you would have more chance of a problem that someone with a large international airport at hand. But you just need to see what is available and make sure your layovers are sufficient.

Flying out of PHL, EWR, or NY area even, is it better chance of nonstop/ preferable to go into Milan or Rome?

Also, include Miami on your list since you are near Florence, SC(?). I looked at Google flights from MIA to FCO, ITA has a non-stop flight. Turkish Air, BA, TAP and others have one stop flights into Rome and Milan.

Your other thread says you are flying from Florence, Oregon.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/itinerary-for-mother-daughter-trip-through-tuscany-summer-of-2025

So there are 2 “Florence’s” involved. I already gave you my thoughts on flying into or out of Firenze (FLR) Rome (FCO) is better in terms of simplicity, better choice of airlines and routes, and less chance of disruption in case of cancellations.

There is no airport at Florence, OR that I can see. Airport FLO is indeed in South Carolina.

Since you are starting from a small Oregon town with no airport close by, you are going to have to drive somewhere to get a flight. Eugene is possible, but then you will have a short flight to a major airport before you can catch a long flight to the east coast or to Europe. That multiplies the risk of delays and canceled flights. I suggest you do as forum member Laurel, a fellow Oregonian and very experienced traveler to Italy, does—-make your way to Portland for your starting flight. There may be airport hotels there that provide free parking for 2 weeks with an overnight stay before your flight. At least there are at SeaTac.

I know British Airways flies out of PDX,non-stop to Heathrow where you change planes to reach your chosen airport in italy. Also Delta, but I don’t know which European airports they serve with direct flights. And maybe United or Lufthansa, American, and others.

Another option would be to fly down to LAX (you could even do this from Eugene) and take the ITA direct flight to Rome from there. My sister who lives in SoCal has flown that route several times and not had a problem. If you choose this, I recommend flying down to LAX the day before your overseas flight, even if they are on one ticket.

Ksmomma, you need to help us help you. People here can’t give meaningful advice unless you say where you are flying fro, and where in Italy you want to go. Maybe an open jaw itinerary would work better than round trip to and from the same airport.

And if you identify the airline that gave you such a bad experience recently we can help avoid that one if possible. For example if it was Alaska Airline then you may not want to fly down to LAX for the ITA flight if Alaska is the only airline that flies there from your closest airport (Eugene?)

Lola, I think you mean this line in that previous thread?

Fly out from Florence... OR

I think the OP meant "Fly out from Florence... OR another airport?" and not flying from (imaginary) Florence, Oregon.
But that's just a guess. :O)

Another option would be to fly down to LAX (you could even do this from Eugene) and take the ITA direct flight to Rome from there.

ITA also flies non-stop from SFO to Rome - San Francisco much easier to get to from where OP is starting, and SFO much easier to navigate than LAX. ITA also offers connecting flights from Rome to other cities in Italy.

Fly out from Florence... OR
We were thinking about trying to fit in some Palladio villas in Veneto and then fly out of Venice instead,
(From previous post by OP)

OP is not flying from/to Florence Oregon

The "OR" is 'another option' meaning, not the State abbreviation.

OP has chosen to not disclose her origin/location so trying to offer suggestions on how to choose the least stressful way to get to/from there is pretty much impossible

I don’t think anyone has mentioned the value of having good trip cancellation and interruption insurance for travels.
Some credit cards offer it when you use that card to pay for your flights and other parts of your trip.
At least you can get reimbursed through the insurance company if anything changes on your trip.
I have availed myself of it twice.
Once when husband got very ill and two trips had to be cancelled.
(He’s fine now.)
We were fully reimbursed for all flights, accommodations and train tickets within 10 days.
Second, when I got Covid in Italy and had to stay an extra few days to recover.
Most of my unexpected expenses for that were reimbursed too.

I wouldn’t dream of setting foot outside of Canada without it, and full travel medical insurance coverage too.
It goes a long way to making you feel safer should an unexpected event occur.

Before we go any further, I meant Firenze / Florence, Italy. Will be flying FROM NJ tri-state area to Florence, Italy. However am reconsidering that and was asking about flying into Pisa, Milan or Rome instead. I'm sorry for the mistake on the airport code, but if you actually read the thread, I don't think it's that hard to understand what I meant here. Anyway, thanks to those of you who have posted helpful replies. We're good now - I'll figure it out.

Thank you for clarifying. I can see I am not the only one who was confused.

Well, I am glad to see that it probably wasn’t my fave airline ( Alaska) that caused all your distress, since they don’t much presence on the East coast EWR, JFK, Boston and a few others from Seattle.

But I don’t see why you think every should have understood what you meant when you said “flying out of Florence. . OR” and “ Flying out of FLO”. Florence is a nice little town on the Oregon Coast, and FLO is an airport on South Carolina.

Many people use the term “flying out of” to refer to their starting point, or home airport. And you never said until now what that is, in spite of being asked several times.

And I did read the whole thread before coming to my wrong conclusion. Here is your second post:

That said, no point changing dates I think, but would prefer to change airport and skip flying out of FLO if it'll help increase our chances of nonstop flight availability or ability to get new flights in the event of an issue. Flying out of PHL, EWR, or NY area even, is it better chance of nonstop/ preferable to go into Milan or Rome?

You went straight from flying out of FLO to flying out of PHL, EWR , or NY as though those were alternatives to “ flying of FLO”, meaning airports you could access to start your outbound flight. And some suggested you add Miami to your list of alternative airports.

Now that we have it straight, people can probably come up with helpful suggestions. But note that depending on your itinerary it might be best to fly multi-city ( open jaw) rather than to and from the same airport like Rome. So it might be a good idea to update us on your itinerary in case it has changed.

Pam gave great advice, but as everyone says, you need to be prepare yourself mentally for issues with flights, including a flight being cancelled and you having to find a place to spend the night. In spring of 2023, on the same day, we knew a couple whose flight back from London was cancelled and two other couples whose flight home from Italy was cancelled. And yes, they were flying on legacy carriers-I think Delta and British. On the other hand, our trip to New Zealand and Australia in Jan and Feb of this year involved 15 airports and we did not have any problem with any of our many flights.

LOL, according to 2 posts in the Transportation forum, lots of folks experiencing flight issues today!
It's a good example of a snag that any amount of planning ahead could not have avoided. We got caught in the FAA system meltdown of January 11, 2O22. That was fun (eyeroll.)

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/transportation/travel-warning-global-it-disruption-aircrafts-stay-on-the-ground
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/transportation/check-you-flights-july-19-ground-stop