Revenge travel–revenge delays and prices?

WITH people going back to traveling again, there is the problem of flight delays due to airport congestion, lack of pilots and shortage of planes, etc. This difficult experience I encountered when I attended a conference in Tacloban City.

On my way home I have a connecting f light from Tacloban via Manila and back to Bacolod. That morning, flights were delayed.

Upon arriving at the airport, I asked the ground attendant that since the f light from Manila will be delayed by an hour, will that affect my f light? With a nonchalant reply, she responded that since it is a connecting flight, they will surely wait for me.but guess what? Huff and puff, arriving in Manila I was at the boarding gate 20:15—the time for departure is 20:20 but the gates were already closed! Running all the time with my small hand-carried luggage in tow from the arrival to the departure gate did not do me any good!

We were given a hotel accommodation and another plane ticket for an early morning flight. My whole body longing to sleep and extremely tired coming from a conference and I was looking forward to at least for a few hours of rest in the hotel.

Lo and behold I was not the only one stranded as there were other passengers (all Filipinos) coming from other countries taking the same airline but on different schedules who were also affected by the delays. Worse, the shuttle van that will take us to the hotel arrived late and we arrived at our hotel almost 12 midnight. And they were supposed to pick us up at 1 a.m. for us to be at the airport for our early morning flight!

Thus, instead of taking a rest right away in my hotel bed, which is just a small economy room but with a decent bed at least, I took a shower instead, to be ready for my morning flight.

At that time, I was also super hungry. We were served with dinner of a cup of rice, a piece of chicken and a softdrink. I do not usually eat the skin of the chicken and even a fried chicken from a fast food restaurant. But this time only a few bones were left of the chicken after I ate it! Several minutes after, with hardly getting a wink, we were whisked away by the van to be brought to the airport to catch the early morning flight.

The inconvenience and the stress are lessons for me not to get a flight with a short layover period. But I learned later that the delays in flight it is a global problem!

With “revenge’ travels as they say—people longing to see the world again—f light capacities are full. One flight delayed, or worst cancelled, does not only result to a domino effect but a “big headache” not only to the passengers but to the airlines. Other reasons could be traffic in the runway because of congested airports or lack of planes to fly because of lack of pilots.

Aside from delays, airfares are also going up, and hotel prices too, especially during these months of June, July and even up to August, which are the summer months and peak vacation months in the United States and Europe. Plane fares and related travel prices will likely go down starting September this year.

Statistics shows that after gasoline prices, which rose by 59.9 percent over a 12-month period, airfare comes next at 34.4 percent (US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data as of June 2022). I do not have the Philippine statistics on domestic airfares but certainly it went up even as I pay higher fares in my domestic travels—coupled with inflation rate in June 2022 at 5 percent from 4.3 percent in June 2021.

In the end, if you want to travel, consider all factors. It is not just about “revenge travel” because “revenge prices and delays” are waiting for you, too. Nevertheless, while hoping for a smooth trip be ready for all possible contingencies. That way, you will not be disappointed.

Instead, consider everything—good or bad— as an experience to learn from.

Wilma Miranda is the 2022 chairman of the Finex Ethics Committee, managing partner of Inventor, Miranda & Associates, CPAS and member of the Board of Directors of KPS Outsourcing Inc. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinion of these institutions and the Businessmirror.