Our Mexico spa group leaves shortly. We come from all over North America. Alas, some  women will depart during iffy weather. We already received several worried emails and calls.  So how can you be ready and less nervous for flight cancellations or delays? Forget for now the part of who owes whom legally; that is for after you deal with your flight.

The easy part is—make sure the airline reservation has your cell number as a contact. If made by a travel agent, it might not. Call your agent and get your cell number onto the reservation. No matter who made the booking, download the airline app onto your phone. Enter your flight information which is usually booking reference and last name.  Now fill out the personal information on the app.

If your flight is cancelled, airlines send a notice with rebooked flight or a request to wait for the rebooking.  Keep your phone on for texts and calls.  People forget that bit if overseas if they  turned off cellular to save $. They forget if taking a very early flight and are still asleep. There are fewer upgraded seats on planes. If you accept an economy seat when you had a Business Class one, you agreed to a downgrade. You will not get a refund for the upgrade cost. Above all, read the airline’s notification carefully; once you reject a rebooked flight, you are on your own.

When the airlines ask you to accept or reject a new flight, take a moment but not too long.  There might be a deadline, but if not, do the following before rejecting the new flight. Hunt for a better alternative. Check on line. Try calling customer service. Call your travel insurer some offer a rebooking service. Use the time to call the airline if standing in the Airline Customer Service line, rather than whine with others. Some airlines have text help, twitter help. My ‘go to’ is to call the airline’s overseas phone number and eat the phone cost. You’ll find an overseas number by typing something like Delta in London. The number I found that way was answered immediately by partner Air France. A snow storm in NY did not create an endless  phone wait in Paris.

(Official from the DOT and this relates to controllable cancelations (weather is not controllable) is : If you purchased your tickets directly from an airline, you are entitled to an automatic refund when the airline cancels or significantly delays/changes your flight and you don’t accept: 1) the significantly changed flight; 2) a rebooked flight; 3) a travel credit or voucher; or 4) alternative compensation (such as frequent flyer miles).

What if your flight is delayed, do you go to the airport? 

The answer is yes. Delays can shrink. If much longer than 2 hours, punch the flight number into google, you’ll see what air traffic estimates for your new ETD.  Weather changes quickly; a flight can be rescheduled quickly. I flew to Mexico City after a volcano erupted; first the fight was delayed, then delayed again, then again.  This is called creeping delay. Finally it was cancelled. Ash covered the tarmac then wind dispersed it, then recovered etc. During a wind change, we might have been able to go; we had to wait it out.  Insurance covered my transfers round trip; the airline gave us vouchers for lunch, even though not their fault. If you return home and the flight goes, you risk losing your entire ticket. With a no show on the outbound, your return ticket is cancelled. My mantra is go to the airport no matter how many hours of delay. Sometimes you can get rebooked with a voucher for another airline or with a connecting flight.

With a 2 hour +  delay, ask for hotel and meal vouchers.  Do not accept verbal promises; get the name of the person you negotiate with; if possible get another passenger to listen to the conversation. Ask how much the hotel voucher is worth and what hotels accept it. We had a traveler who stayed at a luxury hotel; because the others were full; her voucher did not cover costs. Meal coupons usually have a printed dollar amount. Overseas the voucher will probably pay for a decent meal. In the US not so.  Other costs might be covered your travel insurer. Expenses like calling an airline from overseas can be exorbitant. Submit phone bills with your other claimed expenses.

Yes hang around the gate for announcements. If you wander, keep returning for updates and continually check your phone. Noisy airports muffle calls and text dings. This happened to me. I did not hear the call or recognize the phone number. I lost the seat.

End note: traveling on a UK or EU Airline, your rights are much better.  Departing from a UK or EU Airport on a US airline, same.