How to Handle Last-Minute Flight Problems

We’ve all had flight problems before that creep up. Air travel is complex but it’s important to keep a level head as much as possible.

We experienced what felt like a significant road block on our trip to Paris. We were due to depart Friday evening on British Airways but the airline canceled on us. To make matters worse, we were flying with others on a separate itinerary and they aren’t able to travel on their own without assistance. The odd thing was British Airways actually operated the flight, but they kicked us off it to accommodate other passengers, best I could tell. So I wanted to document how I navigated the disruption to help others who might be in a similar situation.

Prepare for the worst before travel

The best way to put yourself in a better position if flights delay or cancel is to first make sure things are all set well in advance.

Consider travel insurance

Travel insurance won’t help prevent complications from occurring but it will mitigate the impact. When things go wrong, you don’t want to be out there on your own, especially if you don’t think the airline will help. And guess what? The airline indeed might not assist if the complication is outside their own control (such as inclement weather). Travel insurance, then, can help fill that gap.

There are some separate policies out there you can purchase, and some that will apply to all the travel you take in a year. Additionally, you can get some coverage from premium credit cards (like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve cards). Whichever method you choose, you’ll want to make sure you go with the approach that covers how you travel. Make sure you understand policy coverage before you commit:

Roundtrip flights vs. one-way flights (some might not cover one-way flights)
Cash flights vs. flights booked with points (some might not cover flights unless they are booked fully on cash)
Hotel stays booked with cash vs. with points (this one is hard to find)
How long the delay needs to be before coverage kicks in
Is lost baggage and other coverage included?
Does it protect you in the event of medical emergencies?

If you’re using a credit card to provide coverage, you might feel like you’re at odds with earning points. Sometimes the better points earn rate is from using a credit card that doesn’t give many protections. Consider you have the Citi Prestige card earning 5x on airfare and the Chase Sapphire Preferred card earning 2x on airfare. Further suppose you value Citi Thankyou points the same as Chase Ultimate Rewards points, and that you value both at 2 cents each. On a $500 airfare, you would be sacrificing 1,500 points (or $30 equivalently) to get better protections. Would you take it? It’s entirely up to your risk tolerance and whether you have coverage from a standalone policy.

The kids are ready to conquer flight problems

Consider refundable rates

Sometimes it’s just easier to not worry about what will happen and instead book refundable rates. This might give you the most freedom in the event of travel problems because you can just take things into your own hands and cancel it yourself.

Hotel refundable rates are available usually at a minimal upcharge from nonrefundable rates. As an aside: you might want to consider refundable rates anyways because the rates might go down and you can rebook and save. Since life isn’t simple, we almost always choose refundable rates because priorities can change or an opportunity opens up. That said, make sure you look at what date is the latest you can cancel for free. Sometimes it’s one day before arrival and sometimes it’s weeks before.

Refundable airfare with cash isn’t cheap. These fares are typically expensive because it tends to be business travelers who buy them more often. Since the COVID pandemic, US-based airlines typically offer up a travel credit if you need to cancel but not in all cases (e.g. basic economy).

However, award flights are actually more flexible. Many airlines offer free or cheap fees to cancel your flight and put the miles back in your account. It’s worth checking it out if you otherwise need to make a booking you’re not 100% sure you’re going to take. Or, something to consider if you want to book your own backup flight if you fear the other flight will cancel.

Booking directly from the travel provider can make for an easier experience

Sometimes you can find a cheaper fare when booking through an online travel agency (OTA). OTAs get a commission for airfare you purchase and some share that commission with customers in the form of cheaper rates. But before you run out and save a few bucks, you’ll want to make sure you understand the risks of doing so.

No one likes dealing with a third party when things go wrong. Typically airlines take control of the itinerary within 24 hours of travel so you don’t need to deal with others. But what about prior to that? If you booked with the airline, they will be your main point of contact. But bookings with an OTA will require working with that vendor. This can include things like travel waivers, flight cancelations, and downgrades.

Some OTAs have a less-than-stellar reputation for handling complications that come up. Perhaps they’re understaffed or otherwise don’t make the investment to provide good service. Whichever the reason, having to deal with another intermediary when it can seem simpler for you to just reach out directly to the airline can be frustrating.

To use some of your premium credit card travel credits, it might require you use that credit card company’s OTA. You might be stuck with it, but it’s another reason why you shouldn’t value those travel credits at full value.

Choose your connecting flights carefully

You can actually sometimes avoid a travel headache if you plan connections accordingly.

By default, airlines will schedule you on ‘legal’ connections. Each airport has a minimum connection time necessary to make your next flight. However, sometimes those connections feel like they’re going to cause an issue. We’ve had connection times under 40 minutes before, and it’s always tight. By the time we get off the plane, the other plane is already boarding. While 40 minutes sounds like a lot of time, recall that (1) it takes time to get off the plane, especially if you’re sitting in the back, and (2) the boarding door closes 15 minutes before departure.

Thus, if you feel there’s a chance of misconnecting, you might want to avoid such a quick turnaround.

The same principle applies if you’re booking your own separately connecting flights. Let’s say you have an international flight departing in the afternoon, say at 5PM, from a different airport than your home airport. And to get to that flight, you book a completely separate positioning flight (sometimes necessary to get the best airline pricing with points). Don’t book that positioning flight to arrive such that it only gives you an hour or two before. Add some conservatism and arrive about 3-4 hours in advance. That gives time for minor delays and to recheck bags (and re-clear security), if necessary.

Cruises, which depart the port at a set time in the afternoon, follow the same principles. Your cruise line will not wait for you. Get there with plenty of time to spare or plan to arrive the day before.

Try to remain calm in the moment

It’s important to remain as level-headed as possible

You’ve just received notification of a flight cancel or lengthy delay that perhaps makes connections impossible. It might be easy to think your trip is ruined. Take a moment to breathe and clear your mind to avoid making a critical error.

The gate agent and phone agent didn’t cause the problem. They’re actually there to help you get on your way. So why do you feel the need to take your frustrations on others trying to help? Be kind and you might find it’s easier to get someone who cares about your well-being.

Proactively review alternative flights before calling

Technology these days seems to prefer the self-service option. You might get auto-booked onto a flight that works. If so, great! But what about if the default option doesn’t work for you?

Before you call the airline, take a moment to review what other options are available to you. Do a search on Google Flights to see alternative flights that might work for you. Should the alternative flight be on the same carrier or their close partner, you’re likely fine to make the change (within reason). If the delay is within the airline’s control, you might be successful swapping to a different airline altogether provided there is an interline agreement.

You can also get the airline to check other airports at the same destination (such as swapping JFK for LGA or EWR). Be thorough in your review of alternative flights and kind to the agent at the other end.

Consider using your elite status

We get it–not everyone has elite status. But if you do, you might as well let the airline know you have it. This seems almost obvious on revenue flights, but on award flights, this might not be. Maybe your award flight by default is linked to the award program you used to book, but this could be different than the program you have status with.

It’s worth taking a moment to get your elite status attached, if possible. In the event of irregular operations, you want any extra incentive to get the airline to pay attention to you.

You might even get them to twist the rules in your favor. We’ve been successful with Delta bending the rules and getting us to go where we need to go, even when our true destination was further than what I booked with them. We once tried flying LAX to HND only to connect to a separately booked JAL flight from HND to ITM. Delta’s flight went mechanical and rather than just taking us to HND, I mentioned where I needed to go and they took us to KIX instead (both ITM and KIX are in Osaka, Japan).

Contact the airline

Call the correct number

Don’t just google the airline and use the first number that appears in the results. Google might show the number of anyone paying to improve their standing on the search results. Sometimes this can result in you getting scammed, so make sure you’re actually going into the airline’s website to grab the correct number.

In other words, stop looking at the “sponsored results” section of the web search. Also, don’t trust any AI-generated information. If you have the airline’s phone app, you should be able to find a contact number in there.

Additionally, if it’s within a day of departure and something comes up, contact the operating carrier directly. Even if it’s a codeshare or you booked via OTA, it’s the operating carrier’s responsibility to get you to your destination.

Consider calling a foreign office to ask for help

When airline operations collapse or there is a major weather event going on, the phone lines might be jammed. Even having elite status might not be enough to get you in contact with someone else. When this happens, you can consider calling up a foreign call center. There might still be a wait, but it could be much shorter than waiting for a live agent in the United States.

Confirm the status of the flight you’re switching to before you accept an alternative

I have made this mistake before—my flight gets canceled, but I’m successful with getting an alternative flight. Then, I head down the terminal to find… that flight is also experiencing problems of its own. So now it just meant I needed to deal with this process all over again. Whoops. If at all possible, confirm the flight status (by checking the airline website) before you switch to a different flight.

Other things to consider in the moment

Are there any other costs to recoup?

If you get delayed a day, it might be worth it to reach out directly to the hotel to see if they are able to modify your reservation to save a night’s costs. You may be past the hotel’s cancelation period, but remember you’re not looking to cancel, just modify. There have been times when this hasn’t worked out in my favor, but it’s worth a call—you’ll never get what you’re looking for if you don’t try.

Track the status of your flights

You’ve already gone through the stress of a major disruption once, it’s probably worth it to stay on top of the latest developments on your new flight. I like to use Flightradar24 to keep tabs on where the plane currently is and if there is any expected delay. You could also use the airline’s flight status page, but not all airlines are good about providing details on where planes are located.

Related post: Useful Websites for Tracking Your Flights

After the flight

Contact the airline for compensation

Be as concise and specific as possible and outline what you believe is a reasonable compensation for the delay. Sometimes this is made easier by consumer protection laws like the powerful EU 261/2004.

I had to do this for British Airways after they canceled our flight to Europe. Thankfully, they have an easy online method for submitting requests. While you could do this in the moment, it’s better just to save the discussion until after your trip. Come at it with a clear head.

And while you can add a lot of detail or frustration, keep it concise and to-the-point. Don’t add too much emotion to your story. Adding too much detail can hurt your argument and clouds the narrative. The customer service agent reading the message doesn’t care about your life story.

If things don’t work out the way you hoped, there are third-party companies that specialize in haggling with airlines but they will end up taking a cut from what you’re due. Unless you’re having problems with resolution, I would recommend starting with what you could do on your own first.

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