Is this the summer of travel chaos?
The season looks chaotic for airlines; just how bad is it?
The start of the summer travel season saw some stumbles as airlines canceled thousands of flights over Memorial Day weekend. Now travelers wonder: Was it a fluke or a preview of disruptions to come?
U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,800 flights between May 26 and 30, or 2 percent of their schedules, The Associated Press reported. Delta made up about 800 of those cuts.
The cancellations came as travel continues to rebound from pandemic lows and carriers struggle with worker shortages.
“The ecosystem has become quite stretched as airlines try to met this robust passenger demand and try to get everyone where they want to go this summer,” said Adam Gordon, a managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group. “The resiliency that we used to take for granted is no longer there.”
Although the cancellations weren’t cataclysmic, each represented a travel day gone terribly wrong — and a potentially bad omen for future vacations.
“For that family of four, with a screaming kid and a diaper bag and a crabby spouse, that’s a horrible thing to go through,” said Mike Boyd, aviation analyst and president of Boyd Group International.
Here are seven key questions and answers for travelers heading into the season.
1. What caused the issues? The recipe is familiar: Take bad weather, mix in labor shortages and add a crush of travelers. An average of nearly 2.2 million people flew daily between May 27 and 30, according to the Transportation Security Administration, compared with nearly 1.8 million a day during the same four days last year.
Scott Keyes, founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights, said airlines schedule their flights far in advance and guess what demand will look like and how many planes and employees they will need.
“In this instance, especially with Delta, it seemed like their eyes were a little bit bigger than their stomach,” he said. “They had more flights on the schedule than they could reasonably operate.”
2. What does this mean for the rest of summer? Experts say airlines are still going to be stretched — but they’re also trying to be proactive to minimize last-minute cancellations.
“This summer will likely still be a challenging one as airlines try to adapt to this new normal and as travel demand recovers,” Gordon said.
Boyd said to always prepare for travel disruptions, but he doesn’t expect this summer to be particularly problematic.
“I think it’ll be just what we’ve always expected in the summertime: unpleasant, unhappy, but normal,” he said.
Flying on bigger airlines may offer better protection than taking budget carriers with fewer flights because rebooking options may be more plentiful, Boyd said.
Experts also recommend booking direct flights that depart early in the day. You will have fewer variables to deal with, and should something go wrong, you will have more rerouting options than if you were flying later. Boyd also urged arriving a day or two before an important event.
3. Is it only U.S. airports? We are not alone in our air travel misery. Airlines worldwide canceled thousands of flights May 26 to 29, the AP reported.
“Pretty much everywhere you’ve had a robust demand recovery, you’re experiencing air travel disruption,” Gordon said.
A combination of school breaks and a bank holiday meant long lines, delays and cancellations for United Kingdom travelers over the weekend, according to the
BBC. On May 29, when passengers had to line up outside terminals, Dublin Airport warned on Twitter that travelers might miss their flights due to “significant queues” inside and might need to contact their airlines to rebook.
4. What do I do if my flight is canceled or rescheduled? Download your carrier’s app, and check the day and night before to make sure your flight is still scheduled, experts say. Once you find out your travel plans have gone awry, you will want to act fast to find a new flight. Speed matters, as you will be competing with other travelers looking to do the same.
The airline may automatically rebook you on a different flight, but always check to see if there is a better alternative. You can probably rebook online or via the airline’s mobile app without a change fee. If not, you will have to get on the phone with customer service.
Or you may just want to cancel and ask for a refund. Per Department of Transportation rules, if an airline significantly changes your flight and you want to cancel completely, the airline is required to give you a refund. (Heads up: every airline has a different definition of “significant”). Not eligible for a refund? You can still ask for compensation, like a hotel room if you’re stranded, or a meal voucher.
A refund may sound enticing, but shop around before to make sure you won’t get stuck with a bigger problem.
5. Will I have to wait hours on hold? Keyes said wait times have improved but are still worse than they were before the pandemic.
“Still expect hold times to be measured in an hour or two rather than in minutes,” he said. “It’s probably not generally going to be the 10-hour holds that people were experiencing, although when it’s a crazy time like this weekend, that’s not out of the question.”
Keyes recommends calling an airline’s international customer service centers instead of the U.S. office; you may get through faster.
Airlines have been hiring more employees. Delta executives told The Washington Post earlier this month that wait times have dropped to an average of 30 minutes.
6. Why did my flight next month already get canceled? Several airlines scaled back their summer schedules, trying to avoid promising more than they can deliver. Last month, Delta said it would reduce service by about 100 daily departures from July 1 through Aug. 7 and adjust some flights before that to “improve operational reliability.”
Keyes said the fact that airlines are cutting back at such a profitable time of year shows what dire straits they are in; he compared it to Walmart cutting hours on Black Friday.
“That is a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency resort,” he said. “To see the airlines pulling back even further on their flights at the most profitable time of year for them really underscores what a difficult labor shortage they’re facing.”
7. What happens if my bag gets lost? If you’re one of the unlucky travelers with damaged, lost or delayed luggage, start by filing a claim at your airline’s baggage desk at the airport.
Lauren LaBar, the travel and experience manager at the travel concierge app Upaway, told The Washington Post earlier this year that travelers should get a copy of the report and a customer service contact number to follow up.
Don’t forget to provide your preferred delivery address, as many airlines will get your bag to you free. You may be able to track your bag through your airlines’ app or website, or call their customer service line.
With most airlines, you should qualify for compensation if your bag gets lost for more than 24 hours. LaBar said that at the very least, most airlines will reimburse your checked-bag fee if your luggage isn’t returned within a certain time frame.