Anyone who flies will most likely experience the dreaded delayed flight. A variety of reasons can cause delays such as; like weather, mechanical, computer, misbehaving passengers, medical emergencies. Once we were told they needed to swap out staff because Federal Law would not allow them to fly the entire flight (they would be considered as having worked too many hours in a row).
Most airlines have had delayed flights at one time or another, however, some are definitely more reliable than others. We booked a flight on Allegiant Air recently and found out first-hand their problem with mechanical issues. The staff was amazingly nice (almost too sweet), but the delay had a huge effect on the rest of our small trip.
It’s important to know your rights (what Federal regulations require) versus what is airline policy (which can change with different airlines).
See below 6 things to consider:
Be prepared – scout out the nearest charging areas (or individual outlets) just in case the flight gets delayed. Occasionally we’ll bring a multi-charger. They have some for only USB plug-ins, and others with both USB and electrical outlets. That way when we request to share an outlet, no one ever refuses. Bring some small snacks if you don’t want to spend the money in the concourse as we all know how expensive that can be.
Listen for the clues – the type of rationale as to why the flight is getting delayed is important and can provide good insight and can possibly offer some clues as to the length of delay.
Stay calm – the first things to remember is that the staff at the gate are more than likely not responsible as to why the flight is late, cancellations, etc. and lost tempers usually do not meet with good outcomes (we’ve all read about people getting kicked off of planes), so it’s best to keep your frustation (and anger?) in check instead of being mad at them.
Immediately start searching for alternatives – it doesn’t hurt to have a Plan B. Definitely don’t wait for the flight to actually get canceled or delayed too long. You may be able to secure seats on other flights, possibly switching to another airline. Trust us, it’s not the end of the world, not that difficult, and sometimes better than the alternatives. If things don’t look good, you’ll have a jump on everyone else and be ahead of the pack.
Consider the ripple effect – if you have financial obligations at the other end of your flight (cruise boarding, hotel, rental car, etc.), you’ll need to decide how to handle the arrangements if your flight ends up getting delayed beyond a certain point, or canceled altogether.
Gauge the time – people typically stay close by the gate in hopes that the plane will board “any minute”. While one needs to be prepared to board when they’re ready, it can become pretty obvious that it will be longer. On a recent flight, it appeared that the flight was not going to board any time soon, so our party decided to sit down for lunch at a restaurant/café somewhat near the gate. We were able to relax, eat our meals and be ready to board.