Nothing is certain but death and taxes. Frequent fliers, however, will add the fact that not all flights will leave on time. Most delays have relatively mundane causes from a short list—weather, mechanical delays and crew delays. But, every once in a while, there’s a new excuse that gets your attention.
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Most frequent travelers are used to delays. Realistically, we know they happen. But the single thing that makes most people crazy is being lied to. Or, given a partial explanation that makes no sense.
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Basically in a weather delay situation, ATC (Air Traffic Control) gives each airline a certain number of “slots” — i.e. how many planes they can land within a given time. Each airline then prioritizes their flights accordingly.
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It was past midnight and I was just about to log off my computer, when I got a semi-hysterical email from a client scheduled to leave on a cross-country flight at noon.
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Travelers who want to have a basic idea of the odds of their flight being on time or not have to rely on last month’s data on most Web sites. Obviously, those are an inexact science at best and the information is dated. Flights within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival don’t count, commuter planes don’t show the data and besides, it’s last month. You care about this month.
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Over and over again, I read travel writers saying that travelers should use travel agents for complicated or exotic trips, but that generally they can just book “simple domestic trips” on their own online. Janice Hough suggests five reasons travel agents can help with simple trips.
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When it comes to excuses, frequent travelers have heard it all from their airline. Flights aren’t simply delayed. They’re held up because of a “mechanical”, “weather,” or “ATC holds.” That’s ATC, as in Air Travel Control. (In other words, weather.) But one airline recently threw all those terms out the window.
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