"The Airline Can't Save You" - Lesson from Travel Chaos

Agree with periscope completely. We always book flights that go directly to Europe -- no U.S. connections. Once you are in Europe there are all types of transportation options available. Coming back to the U.S. the connection issue is not as critical.

I don't like the "everything is getting worse, forever" tone of the article. As bad as the Southwest breakdown was, it's not the end of travel as we know it. And it's not something you can prepare for, other than avoid travel on the holidays and in bad weather. Heck, twice we have had Southwest contact us to make earlier departures due to oncoming hurricanes. So drawing a conclusion that the sky is falling (!) is just milking the situation. I'm flying Southwest in two weeks and not worried about it. Money is a great incentive to fix things. If it was Aeroflot, I might be worried.

What to do? I think the vast majority of travelers just dont have the imagination to understand how complicated things are, and standing in front of a gate agent screaming is not going to change the weather. Nor make more planes appear. I never expect any airline staff person was going to Save Me. I always fly having an idea that delays and cancellations might occur and at least some idea of how much time leeway I have. And I have spent the night in airports multiple times, and have a high threshold for discomfort.

Best thinking I can offer is to choose your connections wisely (no ORD in winter) for those of us with no direct flight options. Get out of the US as conveniently as possible (Toronto is a good connection), and have a general awareness of what's going on weather-wise at your destination. On returning, my goal is to get back to anywhere in the US, and I can make it home from there.

PS I've been on three domestic flights that were cancelled. The best thing to do is leave the gate area immediately, and head for the main ticketing counter (or service counter if they have one) as they might be able to put you on other airlines, or others deal with things more effectively.

Yes, I agree...I try to go as direct as possible. For me, that ALWAYS means a flight from Spokane to an international hub - either Seattle or SLC but the connector flights are frequent and if weather was moving in I'd just try to switch to an earlier departing flight. I did learn something when I flew in the Fall and that is to try not to fly on a day when there is a Seattle Seahawks home game. Yep, the flight out of Spokane was completely full with people going to the game so no chance of any kind of changes at the last minute.

I thought the recommendation to have an "emergency fund" of money was good as the advice here is often that if worse comes to worse you can throw money at a problem to make it go away. I did find this statement weird "So everyone should have an emergency fund, but it should be in points and miles."....why would you not want your emergency fund to be room on your CC's? I'll never have a big stash of points and miles so that advice seems to focus on those who still travel for business.

When I started back traveling in Oct 2021 and had a concern that I might be quarantined or isolated for 10-14 days I made sure my CCs were paid completely down before travel. I don't carry a balance anyway but made sure I caught up with whatever I'd charged last minute right before I left. I figured my limits on my AMEX and Visa cards are ridiculous and should carry me thru for any amount of extra time I needed to cover plus would be able to get me a last minute ticket back home.

The only time I experienced a delay and was stuck somewhere overnight (2018 Atlanta in winter with "ice") by the time I saw my flight had been cancelled Delta had already rebooked me for the first flight out the next AM. That was before I was proficient on my smartphone, lol.

I'd also agree that trying not to travel on big holidays is sound as well. I'm hoping to go to Christmas Markets next Dec but have now decided I need to try to get back home by Dec 15 or so.

Pam,
regarding Xmas markets, on our 2019 trip, we flew out the Wednesday before Thanksgiving- the international terminal was empty, as obviously Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Europe. We then traveled for two weeks, and we were home mid-December, - that timing worked well for us. I think the markets are less crowded earlier in December, and it's fun to be in Germany for St. Nicholas Day, Dec 6. When we woke up that morning, the hotel had placed a treats bag at our hotel door, and Santa was in the breakfast room handing out Santa pretzels that morning.
Have a great trip and fun planning!

Agreed about mid December travel home from the Christmas Markets. I flew home from Frankfurt on December 13th, 2022 and had a row of 4 seats to myself. Slept great! The back of the plane was less than 1/4 full, with room for most to lie flat.

This line from the article "The image of seemingly endless lines of passengers waiting to speak with a rebooking agent should also cement the idea that air passengers must be the masters of their own fate, and can do so through a mobile device." I've always been one to take the bull by the horns in all situations and solve my own problems. It's good advice not to sit back and wait for others to solve it for you.

Flying "nonstop" (or "direct" as people here say) is not an option for many people in many airline markets (small and midsize). Even if it is, if you're shelling out the equivalent of the cost of a hotel room night(s) just to get a non-stop flight (assuming there is a large price difference between the two), then you're in a financial position to weather a 24-48 hour delay. I guess I don't sweat this kind of thing (or pay a premium to prevent a worst case scenario that rarely occurs) and just avoid traveling during the holidays with a super tight schedule where you have a razor thin margin for error. Obviously, that's not an option for many people either. The key is always flexibility and being ready to execute the next or second (or even third) best option and, yes, having the resources to do that.

We're in a market-based capitalist system with only a limited number of carriers following a pretty earth shattering economic shakeup during covid where nothing is exctly as it was prior to 2020. No one will ever "save" you except yourself, so you have to look out for number one. The Southwest meltdown is an extreme outlier, I wouldn't get too pessimistic. Most of the time, flying it totally uneventful. I went to Mexico in early to mid-December and both flights (JetBlue and Southwest) were only half-full and I had the whole row to myself.

In our travels last year, there were two glitches in our flights causing us to spend a night at a departure airport - a control tower in Ushuaia lost its radar and the Aer Lingus kerfuffle in Dublin in September. Be prepared and have a plan B as stuff can and does happen. Travel insurance, a cell phone to dial internationally and a credit card are your friends. Do not wait for others to solve your issues.

Okay, have the airline app; sure thats where my boarding pass is.
"The Airline Cant Save You"? well they made a good start at saving you by giving you the App.
Travel with financial resources for a hotel if you need it? Seriously? Who travels that isnt worth $150?
Watch the weather? You can guess better than the weather channel and then predict the consequences? Southwest couldn't even do that.

not much useful there.

The article didn't really reveal anything that a seasoned traveler doesn't already know. Somewhat sensationalistic to be honest, the issues are part of traveling, nothing is perfect so, one needs to be resilient and flexible.

Doesn't everybody use the airline app? My boarding pass is on there and I can get notifications easily...if you're not utilizing that respective airlines app, start. It's how they're able to communicate with you. Should there be a cancellation, get lined up immediately at the gate desk or, hustle to that airline's service desk...if there's a line there, then go to the bank of phones nearby that connect directly to their help desk; in fact that call center may be able to fix you up faster since they're not on-sight and getting stressed-out with the growing line of pissed-off passengers. Contact them directly via your own device if you're waiting in line and it looks to be a lengthy process.

As for minimizing flight issues, direct flights are best but, for most of us here in the US, a connection or two is usually necessary when getting to Europe.

Next best, and others have mentioned is just getting a flight over to that region of the world as directly as possible, then make the connection to your final destination. I make sure to avoid winter connections via ORD, DTW, BOS and DEN. JFK & EWR tend to do a good job getting flights out, and ATL I've hd no issues traveling eastward...to date. European airlines aren't immune to computer breakdowns either but, there's more low-cost, regional carriers available if you need to call an audible and make a change. Then there's the train option if flying into your destination looks to be untenable; really just depends on your itinerary.

Mister E, hotels near airports are usually twice $150.

On going over my view is to take a non-stop flight. More flexibility and options that way, whether I land in CDG, Zurich, Amsterdam, FRA, Munich, London, Copenhagen, ertc, etc.

Returning from Europe I have only had to change planes in the US once, that was at JFK when I didn't know any better about flying non-stop back to SFO.

The article didn't really reveal anything that a seasoned traveler
doesn't already know.

I do feel bad for the unseasoned though. My daughter is 23 and took her first 'adult' vacation last summer when they went to Belize. She had me and my wife to rely on to help her organize and plan, but money was tighter for her than it would be for me and so she was making rookie mistakes with too many connections, etc. because of cost factors. These she will learn from with experience, but some people are learning the hard way right now. Luckily her trip went smoothly. A few years ago though, my son's girlfriend was flying from Louisville Kentucky to Calgary via Dallas near Christmas, but there was a winter weather episode in Dallas and her flight was cancelled, she was re-routed somewhere else further east and then to Philadelpha-Toronto-Calgary, but the situation snowballed. The poor girl was a starving student and had virtually no experience flying and relied on us to walk her through it. I can't imagine how it could have been without some help.

As I travel solo a lot of the time, nowadays I have a few plans for emergencies.

Having a paid-down credit card with room on it to pay for emergencies.
Having fully comprehensive travel cancellation and medical insurance that extends to a couple of days past my expected return-home date.
All the apps: airlines, hotel sites, AirBnB, airport sites, Canadian Government app, travel insurance app, weather.
Extra medication in case of delays.
Powerbank to charge phone and IPad.
Putting all my accommodation phone numbers in my contact list before I leave home, to let them know if I am delayed.
Testing out WhatsApp, Skype, etc so I know they are working before I leave home, as a backup to calling by phone.

I look for hotels near any airports I may be delayed at and bookmark them just in case.
You can't trust airlines to find you a hotel.

I'm sure there are more....

We always book flights that go directly to Europe -- no U.S. connections.

Alas, there are no direct flights to Europe from Tulsa, so, sucker that I am, I have to make a connection first in the United States when leaving my folks' (or going home to see them)...

I really like your response, Stan.

The article didn't really reveal anything that a seasoned traveler
doesn't already know.

Zcorsair; exactly. But I will go a step further and say it doesn’t reveal anything someone traveling for the second time shouldn’t know.

Mister E, hotels near airports are usually twice $150.

cala; come to San Antonio. But okay, are you really traveling to Europe without, lets say $900 in contingency room on your credit card?

I live in the same area as Pam, so we don’t have the luxury of any non-stop flights to Europe. And even if I book a non-stop from Seattle, there’s a chance that Delta will switch the flights, and I’m going through JFK or Atlanta.

I always bring along a printed copy of my flight reservation with the confirmation, so if anything were to go badly, including losing my phone, I at least would have my confirmation number & could also hand the counter helper the original key info - ticket category info, etc. (I’ve had cancelled hotel reservations, etc. just disappear from a website, too.)

It’s also helpful to have a person you’ve discussed ahead of time to contact for advice, if needed. I texted my husband one time when I suspected a potential issue flying back home from Europe. By the time I needed to make the decision, it was no stress because I had given him info to work it, knowing he had used the time looking up the options on the laptop at home while I had finished the first flight.

Regardless of the issue, the airline or airport workers sure appreciate some kindness when we’re interacting to resolve the issue. : )

The photo in the article reaffirmed the value of bringing a carry on suitcase, so at least you have your items with you! And when I’m nearing the end of the trip, I always wash a little longer to have at least two days of clothes clean in case my flights home don’t go as planned….and a few protein bars, too.

Being retired does lessen the impact of something like this. If needed, some nights at a nearby hotel reserved through Booking.com is the main backup plan.

" come to San Antonio." The last couple of trips there, the last in 2016, I stayed at the historic Menger as it became more affordable. Numerous other places depending on one 'budget.