After a summer of challenging weather and other disruptions, airline passengers have faced many complications.
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passengers → face → complications
Frequent storms, the recent air traffic control failure in Britain, a fatal cargo plane crash in Miami, and the chaotic introduction of the Entry/Exit System in Europe are just some of the sources of delays, cancellations and cascading glitches.
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storms → cascade → delays
“The industry has grown so rapidly, and millions more people travelling has created friction,” said Steve Glenn, the founder of Executive Travel, a corporate travel management company in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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Glenn → grow → Lincoln
“One little thunderstorm through the Midwest can hit Chicago, Detroit, Newark and JFK and take out a day of travel.
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thunderstorm → hit → travel
What wasn’t a problem, now we have to plan for.”
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we → have → ?
There’s not much travellers can do about circumstances like weather.
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travellers → ’ → weather
But they can change their booking strategies to avoid worst-case scenarios.
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they → change → scenarios
“There are a lot of things you can’t control, but you can relieve the pain points,” said Diana Hechler, the owner of D. Tours Travel, a travel agency in Larchmont, New York.
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Hechler → be → Larchmont
Like defensive driving, defensive flight booking means taking proactive steps to protect yourself, such as padding itineraries, leaving early in the day and potentially spending more for non-stop flights.
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booking → mean → flights
Here’s what we’ve learned this summer.
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we → ’ → what
Leave a day early
If you’ve got a deadline to be somewhere, like a 4 p.m. cruise departure in Barcelona or an afternoon briefing in Cairo before a tour, arriving that morning is often possible, according to airline schedules.
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arriving → leave → schedules
But a storm, technology glitches at the airport or other mishaps can all too easily jeopardize the start of a trip.
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storm → jeopardize → trip
“I advise leaving at least one day early on vacation,” Glenn said.
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Glenn → advise → vacation
“You have to almost assume there’s a 50-50 chance you’ll be disrupted.”
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you → have → ?
Arriving a day in advance also allows you to rest after a long flight and potentially get a good night’s sleep before moving on.
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you → arrive → sleep
And if you are delayed, having the cushion will help you worry less about the deadline.
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you → delay → deadline
Another reason to arrive early: Your baggage may be delayed, Hechler said.
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Hechler → arrive → ?
“If you’re there the day before, you have an excellent chance of it catching up with you.”
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it → ’re → you
2. Take the first flight of the day
Booking an early-bird flight gives you more options for later flights should the original be delayed or cancelled.
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original → take → flights
“First flights of the day have a more than 10-percentage-point higher on-time performance than later flights of the day,” said Anna Brown, a travel expert at Going.com, a service that finds cheap airfares.
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that → have → airfares
The advice applies to domestic flights; international departures may only take place once a day.
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departures → apply → place
The earliest flights tend to use planes that arrived late the day before.
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that → tend → planes
Should the airline discover a problem, which it would normally convey through an airline alert, morning flyers may have alternatives later in the day, Glenn said.
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Glenn → discover → day
“If you’re the last flight, you’re pretty much stuck because there are no other options.”
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you → ’re → ?
Hechler noted that afternoon storms tend to be predictable in summer, “so don’t plan a trip at 5 p.m.”
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storms → note → 5
In general, it’s a good idea to look for an airline that flies more frequently to your destination.
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that → ’ → destination
“Pick the route that flies a few times a day, not once,” Brown said.
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Brown → pick → route
“More flights means more chances to get rebooked.”
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flights → mean → chances
3. Fly non-stop
When possible, book a non-stop flight.
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Fly → fly → flight
More takeoffs and landings mean the possibility of more complications.
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takeoffs → mean → complications
Often a non-stop option is more expensive than flights that connect.
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that → connect → flights
Travel advisers recommend factoring in the cost of the potential delay.
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advisers → recommend → delay
“Do yourself a good favour and spend the extra bucks to get a non-stop flight if you can,” Hechler said.
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Hechler → do → flight
Agencies can rebook a flyer before travel, but may not be able to help during a flight delay.
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Agencies → rebook → delay
Any refunds from an airline may be issued to the agency ahead of the flyer.
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refunds → issue → flyer
“It’s the airline that has to fix things when they go wrong, not a third party,” Brown said.
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Brown → ’ → things
5. Avoid tight connections
In cases where you can’t book a direct flight, be wary of connections that are less than an hour, particularly in big airports.
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that → avoid → airports
Any delay can cost you precious time in making your next flight.
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delay → cost → flight
In big airports, that might involve quite a bit of time walking or, when rushed, running.
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that → involve → time
“Put more time in between connecting flights,” Glenn said.
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Glenn → put → flights
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
