2023 Airlines and Airports

As if carry-ons and airlines weren’t enough of a hot mess, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says it anticipates that security checkpoints across the U.S. will be busier than ever this Thanksgiving travel season.

And the rush will happen earlier than you might think, too. The agency says that the travel season actually kicks off this Friday, Nov. 17 and runs for nearly two weeks, through Tuesday, Nov. 28. During that period, TSA expects to screen 30 million passengers.

The spike in TSA screenings is forecast to happen on the Tuesday and Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving and the Sunday afterward which is expected to be the busiest day overall.

The need for speed

TSA Administrator David Pekoske said his agency is equipped for the rush and is shooting for wait time standards of under 10 minutes for TSA PreCheck® lanes and under 30 minutes for standard screening lanes. 

That goal is well and good, but anyone who has TSA PreCheck and who’s flown lately has no doubt noticed that the PreCheck lines are getting longer and longer. Pekoske said there are now more than 17.6 million passengers enrolled in TSA PreCheck, which is 3.9 million more members than there were this time last year.

Travel efficiency requires more than just the TSA, though. When it comes to the airports with the most delays, a new travel study suggests that there are 10 airports where travelers should plan on getting to early.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL) tops the list of the “most delays” followed by McCarran International (Las Vegas) (LAS), Orlando International (MCO), Baltimore/Washington (BAL), Chicago Midway (MDW).

In the “busiest” category, it’s Atlanta (ATL), Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW), and Denver (DEN), Chicago O’Hare (ORD), and Los Angeles International (LAX).

Ensuring success at the airport

Travelers also have to take into consideration that how they approach their trip is also a factor. Anyone traveling over the holidays should keep in mind several things before arriving at the airport.

What goes in carry-ons and what doesn’t. If you plan on taking Aunt Edna’s cranberry sauce, gravy, wine, jam or jelly, those foods must be packed in a checked bag because they’re considered liquids or gels. If you try to get them through TSA, it’s a safe bet that they’ll wind up in the trash bin, so remember this: If you can spill it, spray it, spread it, pump it or pour it, then it is a liquid and must be packed in your checked bag. Conversely, if it’s a solid food, like a pecan pie, then you can take it through the TSA checkpoint. Check for prohibited items by using the “What Can I Bring?” page on TSA.gov. or just ask @AskTSA.

More technology is being used, but that doesn’t always ensure perfection. TSA is employing more tech than ever, beginning with its Credential Authentication Technology (CAT) units, where a boarding pass is not needed. However, as ConsumerAffairs witnessed recently, technology at airports can malfunction and further delay the process. That’s one more reason to get to the airport at least two hours early.

Get the airline’s app. The airlines’ mobile apps are getting more and more efficient and are the best way to monitor boarding times, seat assignments, changes, and even have a barcode of your ticket that can make getting through the airport screening easier. And if you're flight is delayed or canceled, the app usually gets that information to you faster.

If you’re flying Southwest, you now get an in-app benefit about your bags, too. Now on Southwest.com and the Southwest mobile app, travelers can view the status of their checked bag across three different milestones of each checked piece of luggage: when bag tags are printed, when bags are loaded, and when unloaded from the aircraft.

Southwest also recently launched a new capability for travelers to add checked bags digitally at the time of their check-in, up to 24 hours before arriving at the airport. It's another timesaver that eliminates the steps to print bag tags at kiosks.

One important thing to remember about an airline’s app and TSA PreCheck is this: Just because you’re enrolled in PreCheck doesn’t guarantee your membership has been automatically connected with your ticket.

If you have PreCheck and get in the PreCheck line thinking all is good, it may not be. Three days (72 hours) before you leave, double-check that your ticket actually lists you as a PreCheck member beforehand. If it doesn’t, then, you need to take these steps:

• First, check that your membership has not expired by looking up your account here.  

• If still active, confirm with your airline that your Known Traveler Number, name, and date of birth are accurate and that your airline participates in TSA PreCheck.  If you still do not have a TSA PreCheck indicator on your boarding pass, please call the TSA Contact Center at (866) 289-9673, submit an online form, or contact us at @AskTSA on Twitter and Facebook Messenger.  

Call ahead to request passenger support. If you’re part of a group that will require assistance, such as a wheelchair, you need to contact the TSA Cares helpline toll-free at 855-787-2227 at least 72 hours before travel to find out what to expect at the security checkpoint. 

Don’t think anything will happen, but if it does…

Need another reason to get your departure act together days in advance? Remember Murphy’s Law – "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong and at the worst possible time." 

Interestingly enough, Murphy’s Law actually has its roots in aviation and even though airlines have gotten better about things and there are fewer meltdowns than there were a year ago, don’t think that it’s a perfect system yet.

In an email to ConsumerAffairs, Going.com’s Scott Keyes said that past performance is no guarantee of future results. “I certainly wouldn’t bet my savings on airlines avoiding widespread disruptions, especially considering meltdowns are unpredictable black swan events. But I would bet something that we won’t see disruptions anywhere near last year’s scale,” Keyes said.

If your flight does get delayed or canceled, remember that you do have rights and the TSA is on your side. YourRichBFF explains what on your side means in this video:

If you’ve flown anywhere in the last year, you know what a drag flying has become. Long lines, cancellations, unruly passengers, and having to pay for everything except a visit to the bathroom has given cruise lines an opportunity to bring back the joy of taking a trip.

According to new research from Future Market Insights, cruising is growing 12% a year. The reason cruising is taking a chink out of airlines’ armor is because it incorporates all the aspects consumers want in tourism – transportation, accommodation, attractions, and hospitality.

What's behind this trend?

The researchers said one of the key aspects influencing the cruise business is a change in thinking. "Several businesses are emerging, offering a range of amenities to draw clients to meet the need for maritime cross-border travel," they wrote. 

And these companies are putting ships on the seas like there's no tomorrow. In December 2022, 239 ships entered commercial service, a 15-fold year-over-year increase.

MSC Cruises, with 13 ships and 50,326 beds, is ranked first on the list of ships at sea; then Carnival (17 ships,  54,364 berths); and Royal Caribbean (20 ships, 71,800 berths).

Cruising is no longer a ‘70s “Love Boat” thing, either, but loaded with things airlines can’t provide. Cruise companies these days offer in-room spa treatments, skydiving simulators, pickleball, and Pilates. And many sweeten the deal with hundreds in on-board credit, lots of dining choices, and free drinks.

Travel experts give their thumbs ups

ConsumerAffairs asked travel aficionados and experts both why they think cruising is turning into a travel favorite. Here’s what they had to say:

It’s a better deal than flying.

When you factor in everything that’s included – food and drink, entertainment, rooms, etc. – cruising is about ten times cheaper than air travel because it uses bigger vessels with a higher capacity,  Alexandra Dubakova, Travel Expert and CMO of FreeTour.com, told ConsumerAffairs.

“You get to explore the sea, tour different countries, enjoy different dining experiences, engage in other activities, and shop around, making cruising more fun and enjoyable,” Dubakova said.

If you need a thumbnail idea of what the daily cost of a cruise plays out to be, Cruise Critic Executive Editor, Chris Gray Faust, told us that $75 is the average. “It’s hard to think of a land-based option that’s comparable – especially when you consider what that cost includes.” 

However, consumers trying to “cheap out” might find themselves disappointed. “The cruising ‘experience’ is not a standard thing,” Dubakova reminds cruise newbies.

“Your cruising experience will depend on what you choose, so do not be tempted with the cheapest deal. Know what experience you are looking for before hunting for deals.”

Relaxation and low price. What's not to like?

One cruise option many don't know about are "repositioning" cruises. Because the cruise lines have to take their boats from the Caribbean back to Europe in late Spring for journeys there, most offer repositioning cruises at hard-to-believe prices.

For example, ConsumerAffairs saw a 14-day repositioning cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome for under $800 (interior room). 

Besides the plus of the price, you're also relaxing on the ocean for the first seven days before you hit the Azores, and then, you're off to Spain, then Italy.

It’s not an 'old people’s' thing anymore

If you have a preconceived notion that cruises are nothing but fading baby boomers, youmight have to rethink your position. The average cruise passenger these days is 47 years old, with the three largest demographic groups being: 40 to 49 – 15%; 50 to 59 – 18%; and 60 to 69 – 19%.

The first words out of travel guru Rocky Trifari’s mouth were “Unlike air travel, you only need to unpack once on a cruise.” Whew, that’s a relief.

“From that point on, your hotel essentially moves with you even if you visit multiple destinations. This effectively eliminates the potentially stressful hassle of constantly repacking and unpacking if you have an itinerary that involves visiting more than one destination.”

Opposed to flying, Trifari gives a thumbs-up to the social aspect of cruising, “If you are fortunate enough to meet some new friends aboard the ship, you can spend the rest of the time visiting various destinations with a group of travelers you’ve gotten to know on board.” 

However, cruises are not perfect

Now that you’ve heard the pluses, you need to know the minuses of cruising. 

Who’s in charge? You’re not in charge of the itinerary – you’re going where the ship’s going. If you want to go to  Mexico City or Switzerland, you’re better off flying. 

If you want to spend a few days at a certain place, you’re not likely to get that, either. Cruises try to hit as many places as they can and it’s usually a day in a port and you’re gone. That means, if you want to absorb Barcelona from A-Z, you should plan to go there 3-4 days before you set sail.

A la carte can eat you alive.You’d be smart to get all the perks you can up front, too. Anything not included is expensive, such as internet or cocktails.

“Those with sea sickness should be warned that cruises often travel through rough waters, depending on the time of year and conditions,” David Triana, avid cruiser and account executive with Delight Labs, said.

It's also wise to confirm all the details upfront. In ConsumerAffairs reviews of travel agencies, we found a number of complaints about promise vs. performance. Many of those concerned travelers not getting everything they thought they'd get. Our number one takeaway is to get everything you think you’re supposed to get upfront, detailed in an email, before you put the charge on your credit card.

Finally, big ships can be overwhelming. If a big ship in the middle of the Atlantic with thousands of others seems a bit too much, first-time cruisers might want to try and go the river cruise route. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has come down hard on American Airlines, fining the carrier $4.1 million for violating federal statutes and a Department’s rule.

Specifically, the government agency is punishing American for keeping passengers aboard planes on the tarmac for three hours or more without providing them an opportunity to get off the aircraft.

It’s the largest fine DOT has ever levied for a violation of the “tarmac rule.” And apparently, this is not a one-off case.

DOT said its investigation found that American kept dozens of flights stuck on the tarmac for long periods of time without letting passengers off. In addition to the fine, American has been ordered to cease and desist from violating the law. 

“This is the latest action in our continued drive to enforce the rights of airline passengers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Whether the issue is extreme tarmac delays or problems getting refunds, DOT will continue to protect consumers and hold airlines accountable.”

Investigation results

DOT said its Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) found that between 2018 and 2021, American allowed 43 domestic flights to remain on the tarmac for lengthy periods without providing passengers an opportunity to deplane, in violation of the Department’s tarmac delay rule. 

DOT also found that none of the exceptions to the tarmac delay rule, including the safety and security exceptions, applied to those flights. In addition, on one of the 43 flights, passengers were not provided with food and water as required. 

The investigation report said most of the delays occurred at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and that the delays covered by the investigation affected a total of  5,821 passengers. 

DOT said American Airlines had already made $2.05 in refunds to affected passengers so that amount will be deducted from the fine. DOT said it encourages that practice so that affected passengers are more quickly compensated.

After years of complaints from travelers, DOT has started a new rulemaking process aimed at requiring airlines to provide compensation and cover expenses for amenities such as meals, hotels, and rebooking when airlines are responsible for stranding passengers. 

After a two-year DOT push to improve the passenger experience, the department said the 10 largest airlines now guarantee meals and free rebooking on the same airline and nine guarantee hotel accommodations as part of the Department’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard. 

Without question commercial airline safety has vastly improved in the last two decades. However, in recent weeks there have been a number of high-profile close calls, where aircraft in the air or on the runway have nearly collided.

The New York Times reports these near accidents occur a lot more than travelers think. For example, it reports a Southwest Airlines jet had to abort a landing at Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans last month because another airliner was on the runway, preparing to take off.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says there are multiple layers of safety protecting the traveling public, including Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems on commercial aircraft, surface safety technology at the country's biggest airports and “robust procedures.”

Still, the agency says one close call is one too many. The FAA said it will hold a series of runway safety meetings at approximately 90 airports between now and the end of September.

Runway safety meetings

“Sharing information is critical to improving safety,” said Tim Arel, chief operating officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization. “These meetings, along with other efforts, will help us achieve our goal of zero close calls.”

During these meetings, officials from airports and airlines will identify unique risks to surface safety at that airport and develop plans to mitigate or eliminate the risks. Representatives from the FAA’s air traffic organization, airlines, pilots, airport vehicle drivers and others will participate, the agency said. 

The FAA points out that air travel has never been safer. It says U.S. airlines have transported billions of passengers since 2009 without a fatality.

The Times investigation warns that the streak could end at any time. Its investigators found near misses involving U.S. commercial airlines happen on average multiple times a week.

Not enough air traffic controllers?

“The incidents often occur at or near airports and are the result of human error, the agency’s internal records show,” the investigators wrote. “Mistakes by air traffic controllers – stretched thin by a nationwide staffing shortage – have been one major factor.”

Joe Schlosser, an aviation expert and vice president at ISN, agrees that the demands placed on controllers could be a factor.

"Air traffic control facilities are facing massive labor shortages right now," Schlosser told ConsumerAffairs. "As air traffic controllers work mandatory overtime, many are so fatigued that it is potentially impeding their ability to perform their jobs properly. The return of air traffic from pre-pandemic levels is only exacerbating the issue, as more commercial aircraft are in flight and on the runways."

In response to the Times investigation, the FAA has released data showing that the number and rate of “runway incursions” are steadily declining since the pandemic. The data show there were 1,697 in 2022 and 985 so far this year.

View From The Wing’s analysis of FAA data paints a more troubling image. It reports there were 46 near-collisions in July and 300 over the last 12 months.

The last big travel day before the holidays – Labor Day ‘23 – is about to arrive.

And whether you’ve traveled earlier this summer and think you’ve got a handle on all that could be thrown at you – or this is your first trip in some time – you better be prepared because there’ll be a good number of potential stumbling blocks in your path.

You won’t be the only one traveling

Yes, it would be nice to have the sky and the road to yourself, but no such luck. More than 57% -- which is over 148 million American adults -- intend to travel for Labor Day or Labor Day weekend this year. That's 4.07% more than last year, according to TheVacationer.

Long TSA lines and the ripple of headaches they’ll bring

The U.S. Travel Association tells ConsumerAffairs that aging technology and a lack of TSA agents have caused the air travel system to become inefficient. That means long lines, agents who might be new to the job, and heaven forbid, more missed flights.

How long will it take to get through a TSA checkpoint? Planetware’s latest report says it depends on where you are departing. For example, both Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway, George Bush International in Houston, Washington, D.C.’s Dulles, San Francisco International, and Tampa International could be at a snail’s pace, somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes.

One quick note about Chicago Midway: Planetware says that Midway has reported more flight delays (22.6%) and cancellations (5.7%) than any other major airport in the U.S. since 2014.

Friday and Monday might not be much fun

Travel app Hopper’s lead economist Hayley Berg told ConsumerAffairs that the busiest days to travel will be Friday for departures – with 3.7 million travelers expected to depart from U.S airports – and Monday for return flights – with 3.6 million expected to depart from U.S airports.

If you want better odds, The Vacationer’s Eric Jones says that you should fly out the Tuesday or Wednesday before Labor Day and fly home the Wednesday, Thursday, or Saturday after.

The busiest airports? Here are Berg’s best estimates: 

Busiest airports and times:

1. Atlanta (ATL) - Estimated Seats Departing: 1,541,254 passengers; Busiest Times: Morning (8 am - 12 pm)

2. Denver (DEN) - Estimated Seats Departing: 1,024,839 passengers; Busiest Times: Morning (8 am - 12 pm)

3. Dallas Fort-Worth (DFW) - Estimated Seats Departing: 983,089 passengers; Busiest Times: Evening (4 pm - 8 pm)

4. Los Angeles (LAX) - Estimated Seats Departing: 927,031 passengers; Busiest Times: Morning (8 am - 12 pm)

5. Chicago (ORD) - Estimated Seats Departing: 816,943 passengers; Busiest Times: Evening (4 pm - 8 pm)

Maybe even cancel your reservation and fly another airline

Price4Limo shared some interesting information with ConsumerAffairs that it culled from travel data at the Bureau of Transportation Statistics – data that shows the best places to fly and the best airlines to take if having fewer hassles is one of your goals. 

The company’s analysts point to Hawaiian Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Alaska Airlines as the best airlines to fly because those three have the lowest percentage of departure delays. On the other hand, the analysts' interpretation of the data shows that JetBlue Airways, Allegiant Air, and Frontier Airlines are the worst airlines to fly.

Does that mean you should cancel your flight if you’re on, say, JetBlue? Maybe.

"Canceling a flight can be stressful, especially when concerns about losing money are involved,” Maddie Weirman, part of the creative team at Price4Limo, told ConsumerAffairs.

“In alignment with our recent study, we’ve observed a significant uptick in online searches, with a 19% increase in inquiries about ‘canceling a flight and getting a refund’ over the past year.," Weirman said. "Additionally, searches for ‘compensation for flight delays’ have surged by a remarkable 79%."

Thinking about pulling the plug on your existing reservation? One word of caution: it's not a cakewalk. But if you do, Weirman offers these factors that could influence the difficulty of canceling a flight and obtaining a refund:

Complex policies: "Airlines have a variety of ticket types, each with its own cancellation policies and fees. Understanding these policies can be confusing, leading to difficulties in determining if you can cancel your reservation without losing money," Weirman said.

Non-refundable tickets: Many travelers purchase non-refundable tickets because they are cheaper -- and you may have done the same. Just remember -- those discounted tickets can come with strict cancellation rules and some awfully hefty charges if you do decide to change them.

Time sensitivity: To protect themselves, airlines usually have specific timeframes within which you can cancel and receive a full refund. Miss that window and you could be paying more than you want or more than it's worth changing the flight. 

Reason for cancellation: "The reason for your cancellation can also impact the difficulty of obtaining a refund," Weirman said. "Airlines are more likely to offer flexibility and refunds for cancellations due to factors beyond your control, such as illness or severe weather disruptions."

It’s a prospect that fills an airline passenger with dread. No, not an emergency landing, but the discovery, once you’re safely on the ground, that the airline has lost your luggage.

It’s happening more often, especially this summer with a huge increase in air travel. It’s happening so often that many travelers are investing in Apple AirTags to track their bags. And it turns out the bags are not always lost.

According to CNN, Sandra Shuster and her 15-year-old daughter Ruby were flying home to Denver from Baltimore with a stopover in Chicago, when they were told at their destination their suitcase was lost.

Using her AirTag, Sandra was able to locate her bag at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. After she informed United Airlines she was promised the bag would arrive the next day. Then the day after.

“I told them I could see it at Terminal 1 baggage reclaim in Chicago, and they said ‘We have no record of it,’ Shuster told CNN. “I asked them to call Chicago, and they said ‘No, we’re not allowed.’ They said they’d put notes in the system and the baggage team would take care of it.”

Then the airline told her the bag was in Baltimore. Frustrated, Shuster boarded a plane and traveled to Chicago to pick it up herself. 

Traveler’s aid

This doesn’t appear to be an isolated case. A TikTok user named Sarah posted to the social media site that Air France reported her luggage was lost. But she too had placed an AirTag inside her bag.

“It’s literally in the airport,” she reported, saying she got her luggage back but claimed the airline was of little help.

Why are so many bags getting mishandled? CNBC reports airlines have a shortage of baggage handlers as well as other staff. At the same time, summer travel has surged.

Frequent fliers might consider investing in an Airtag, which Apple developed to help consumers keep track of things that often get misplaced, such as keys. 

A single AirTag starts at $29 and Apple sells a four-pack for $88. They not only locate things around the house but can also find things hundreds of miles away.

As vacation home rentals have grown in popularity, battle lines have been drawn between hosts and guests staying at Airbnb, Vrbo, and other homestay companies.

There were issues with hosts charging outrageous hidden fees -- a matter Airbnb recently took head-on -- and disrespecting guests. Now, a new study from Vivint shows that hosts are pushing their control even further. 

Despite guest concerns, 45% of hosts say they’ll be adding extra safeguards for the summer travel season. A good number of those defenses will come from cameras and microphones inside the home – a move that three in four guests say would force them to choose another place to stay.

Then, there are damage deposits. More than a third of the hosts surveyed said they’ve had guests damage their vacation rental, and nearly a quarter believe the damage was intentional, to the tune of an estimated $530 each time it happens. 

Did we do this to ourselves?

Somewhere along the line, something went wrong and fingers can certainly point both ways. Hosts may have gotten greedy with fees and there were some who should’ve never been allowed to rent their home. But travelers also had a hand in this mess, going too far with disregard for a property and partying down.

“Airbnb was initially built on trust. Hosts and guests both got ratings and feedback after their stays, and hosts could decide which guests they wanted at their property,” Thomas Schaper, Head of Product at DACK, Inc., a guest technology company that enables property managers to provide guests with an all-in-one digital stay experience, told ConsumerAffairs.

"However, as they've scaled, the risk of having troublesome guests has risen as well. Hosts began auto-approving all bookings, and not all OTAs (online travel agencies) protect hosts in the same ways; for example, with some OTAs, the host is the merchant of record and is on the hook for fraud, chargebacks, and, more importantly, property damage or theft.”

Schaper suggests that hosts employing cameras and microphones became a push-come-to-shove matter because short-term rentals didn’t have the same security, safety, and protection guards that hotels do.

No front desk clerk to visually review credit card and ID information from the guest in person. No on-site security, no bellhops, etc. that you would see in a larger hotel. “So technology has to safely and fairly fill that void and make contactless check-in a failproof replacement of the traditional front desk,” he said.

Do guests have a way around this?

If cameras are a little too Big Brother for you, you – the guest – have rights that the hosts are supposed to adhere to.

“It's important to know that most rental platforms have strict policies against this -- both Vrbo and Airbnb do – and guests should report any instances immediately,” Hans Mast, a travel expert at Golden Rule Travel, told ConsumerAffairs. “To mitigate these concerns, guests should thoroughly read reviews and ratings of a potential rental. This way, they can avoid properties with red flags and opt for ones with consistently positive feedback.”

A Vivint spokesperson echoed that, adding that if a guest finds one, they should document that in messages with the host and the company the host lists their property with. 

And the damage issue? That's a gray area that guests should take the time to proactively consider. That gray area is whether the damage was pre-existing or the guest in question is the person who did it.

“While accidents do happen, hosts can have an issue with even the most minor of damages and guests can incur a potential fine. Documenting any existing damages or issues immediately after checking in can be a huge help for both hosts and their guests,” the spokesperson added.

Updated, Friday, June 30.

You can turn on any TV newscast and the first thing you’ll see for the next couple of days is what a hot mess the airlines are. Maybe the hottest mess the industry has seen in several years.

For Friday alone, FlightAware reported total delays within, into, or out of the United States today sat at 1,219, and total cancellations at 922.

“This is not what we want to hear going into a big holiday weekend,” said Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog at U.S. PIRG Education Fund.

“People planning to travel this weekend should take steps now to protect themselves, including learning about their rights, putting trackers in their bags, getting their airline’s app on their phone so they can receive real-time notifications and saving the DOT link that spells out their airline’s guarantees in case of cancellations or delays."

Unfortunately, the potential flood of frustration doesn’t get much attention and ConsumerAffairs thought we’d fill you in on some things you should know about just in case you’re flying out this weekend. Here are some things that you should know about.

The biggest problem no one's talking about

This Saturday, July 1, is the day when wireless carriers can boost their 5G signals. That’s a good thing for those of us on the ground, but it could cause cancellations and delays in situations for planes using older equipment, especially when there’s nasty weather or low visibility. 

And it’s not just a handful of planes, either. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that up to 20% of planes serving U.S. airports don’t yet have updated equipment. 

Misery loves company

Because of the hub-and-spoke system that airlines use, if something goes wrong in, say, Houston, it can affect flights to Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, etc.

As of early Thursday, according to FlightAware, the top three problem spots on its MiseryMap are O'Hare, Newark, and Boston Logan. After those airports, the other major troubles are at Houston's IAH, Denver, and Atlanta. Most everything out West is fairly smooth sailing, although there were six delays in Phoenix, Seattle, and at Los Angeles' LAX.

The best advice to stay on top of things is bookmarking FlightAware’s Misery Map, FlightAware’s Cancellation dashboard, and FlightAware's updates on individual flights.

Do you have your TSA PreCheck mark on your boarding pass?

You probably assume that the TSA automatically takes care of synching everything up with the airlines, but the answer is no.

If you do not have a TSA PreCheck indicator on your boarding pass, call the TSA Contact Center at (866) 289-9673, or contact them at @AskTSA on Twitter and Facebook Messenger.

Pack an empty bag and know before you go 

When airline passengers begin packing for travel, TSA says they should do it carefully, especially on the return trip when they may have picked up a few items not allowed aboard the aircraft. Screening the bag's contents means you are less likely to be stopped at the security checkpoint for having prohibited items and adding 10-15 minutes of patdowns and inspections.

Prior to packing that empty bag, check TSA’s “What Can I Bring?” tool to know what is prohibited. The most common prohibited items at the TSA checkpoint are drinks and foods that are prohibited according to the liquids, gels and aerosols rule.

They lost your bags? Sorry, but…

A lot of bags will be lost this holiday weekend. Possibly well into the thousands. US Pirg’s flier’s bill of rights says that if your bag is delayed overnight, most airlines set guidelines that allow their employees to reimburse you for some emergency expenses. Plus airlines must refund any checked baggage fees, and reimburse you for the lost items up to $3,800.

It may be too late, but if you have an iPhone, you may want to consider getting an AirTag that would enable you to track your luggage.

Don’t lose your wheels if something goes wrong

If anything takes a turn for the worse, keep your cool. Airlines, airports, local police, and TSA are in harmony anytime someone acts up. If you blow your cool, you run the risk of missing your flight, getting arrested, getting fined or any combination of the three.

Yes, and that includes giving a flight attendant grief. All it takes is one p-o’ed flight attendant to ask the pilot to turn the airplane around and take you back to where you came from and causing you to miss your flight.

United Airlines has just made Transportation Secretary Pete Buddideg happy. The company’s latest app helps take the airline off the hook when it comes to addressing at least part of a consumer’s rights on cancellations and delays.

Now, instead of stressing out and waiting in line to talk to an agent or search for options when a flight has been disrupted, United’s new self-service tool automatically presents travelers with personalized re-booking options, bag tracking information, as well as meal and hotel vouchers. 

The company’s decision came from finding itself in a tough spot. Even though United had the lowest mainline flight and seat cancellation rates of any airline in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2023, it still has the most flights impacted by weather given the location of four of its seven major domestic hubs – Chicago, Washington D.C., Denver, and Newark.

"Our goal is to get our customers to their destination on time, but we know things don't always go as planned and that's when a tool like this can make a real difference," said Linda Jojo, chief customer officer for United. 

If you fly United, here’s how it works

Suppose you’re flying United this summer and run into an issue, forcing your flight to be delayed by more than 60 minutes or even canceled completely. In that case, you should automatically see all available options for delays and cancellations on the home screen of the United mobile app. 

Here's how it works:

• Get notified: Before you do anything else, click the link in the automatic text notification or enter flight details in the mobile app or united.com to open the tool. Once you do that, your reservation is already loaded in the app, and you’ll see a prompt right on the home screen.

• Check flight and re-booking status: Step two is to confirm the status of your flight and see if you've been re-booked. If you want another flight option, United also offers those and lets you book based on your preference.

• Track your bags: Follow the status of your checked luggage to see when it is checked in, loaded on your flight and received at your final destination.

• View eligible vouchers: Receive hotel, meal and/or rideshare vouchers if eligible.

• Connect to a United customer service agent virtually: Call, text or video chat with a United agent who can offer the same assistance as the agents at the airport.

What it doesn’t cover… yet

While United’s new app takes some of the sting out of a canceled or delayed flight, the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) customer service dashboard says there are still some holes in what it would like the airline to do. Those include:

• Cash compensation when a cancellation results in passenger waiting for 3 hours or more from the scheduled departure time
• Credit/travel voucher when cancellation results in passenger waiting for 3 hours or more from the scheduled departure time
• Frequent flier miles when cancellation results in passenger waiting for 3 hours or more from the scheduled departure time

​However, United isn't the only major U.S. carrier that hasn't stepped up to make those perks available to stranded passengers. American, Delta, Southwest, et al yet to have agreed to those caveats, as well.

As of now, according to the agency's dashboard, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines are the only ones offering credit/travel vouchers when cancellation results in passengers waiting for three hours or more from the scheduled departure time.

And only Alaska offers frequent flier miles when cancellation results in passengers waiting for 3 hours or more from the scheduled departure time.

The traveler’s golden “Shoulder Season” has made its first appearances. After Southwest Airlines unleashed a surprise 40%-off flash sale for travel this fall, other airlines are already raising their hands and saying, “Us, too!”

ThePointsGuy (TPG) reports that Aeromexico, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Copa Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, and United Airlines are all matching Southwest by offering deals to warmer destinations across Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. 

One great thing about these sales is that they cover a wide swath of locations, making them convenient for nearly everyone who lives close to a decent-sized city in the country.

TPG says these deals include flights departing from several hubs, including Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Another plus is that some of these fares are good for up to spring of 2024.

The only iffy thing is that the rug could be pulled out from under these deals at any time, so if you’re interested, you best be making your reservations now.

ConsumerAffairs put these sales to the test on Google Flights and there are considerable savings to be had.

For example, a roundtrip flight from Indianapolis to Miami in early July runs about $375, but in late September, it goes to as low as $156. Cleveland to Phoenix now is costing about $253, but we found roundtrip tickets as low as $138 if we waited until late October.

A new search engine spots the 'perfect' times to travel

Searching for airfares isn’t much fun, but KAYAK has introduced a new “Best Time to Travel” tool that helps consumers find out when to fly and when to book to get the best price.

The widget is helpful in that it can help remove the toil and trouble of going to multiple search engines to gather those data points by yourself. The company says the tool sifts through the billions of pieces of data that others have already used for searches. 

When ConsumerAffairs took the tool for a trial run, it certainly seemed to have a payoff. For example, when we looked at booking a flight from Cincinnati to Rome, its suggestion was to take our trip from 10/3 to 10/16. The reasons it gave were that airfare is lower than normal --  $1,106 during that period compared to a monthly average of $1,192 -- weather will still be good (an avg. of 62F), and it's likely we wouldn't see a lot of crowds.

With Memorial Day behind us, the busy summer travel season has officially begun - with TSA airport volumes already exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

In the wake of thousands of flights being delayed across the U.S. last week, many travelers are asking, should we expect another hectic summer of travel?

In a word, yes. In its new Summer Disruption Outlook, the experts behind travel app Hopper dug into all the TSA data from last summer to come up with a ranking of the U.S. airports expected to be the worst. Plus, the Hopper analysts offered ConsumerAffairs readers some free advice for anyone who’s taking to the skies and possibly flying out of or going to one of these airports.

The worst

The worst airports in the U.S. are the ones you’d expect them to be just because they’re hubs for major airlines, such as Chicago where American and United route a lot of their traffic. 

Worst U.S. Airports for Summer Travel

1. Chicago (MDW) - 44% of flights disrupted during summer 2022

2. Baltimore (BDWI) - 39% of flights disrupted during summer 2022

3. Newark (EWR) - 37% of flights disrupted during summer 2022

4. Dallas (DAL) - 35% of flights disrupted during summer 2022

5. New York City (JFK) - 34% of flights disrupted during summer 2022

The busiest

You could probably close your eyes and guess the busiest airport in the U.S. You know, the one where nearly 100 million people travel through this year? The big Delta hub? Yep, Atlanta.

Busiest U.S. Airports for Summer Travel

1. Atlanta (ATL) - 26% of flights disrupted during summer 2022

2. Chicago (ORD) - 25% of flights disrupted during summer 2022

3. Dallas (DFW) - 28% of flights disrupted during summer 2022

4. Denver (DEN) - 30% of flights disrupted during summer 2022

5. Los Angeles (LAX) - 24% of flights disrupted during summer 2022

Taking care of the investment in your flight plans

Travelers to Europe this summer will want to make sure they get the most out of their money with airfares up 26% from 2019. These top tips from Hopper's experts will hopefully help you travel smoothly this summer:

Add travel protection. There are a few ways to go about this. Some credit card companies offer travel protection so check with the one you used to buy your ticket. Then, there are companies such as Hopper that offer protection such as Flight Disruption Guarantee, which allows you to rebook a new flight immediately on any carrier, if your flight is delayed, canceled or you miss a connection. Thirdly, if you’re price shopping, there are other worthy travel insurers, but it’s important to ask them if they offer that specific type of coverage.

Take the first flight of the day. Getting out of bed at 5 a.m. isn’t any fun, but it might pay off if a storm rolls into town or there’s a domino of disruptions over a certain airline’s route. Flights departing after 9 am are two times more likely to be delayed than those departing between 5-8 am.

Don't leave it up to chance. Build in a buffer day! It's always better to be safe by adding an extra day to your trip, especially for big events or major trips. Should any delays or disruptions interfere with your travel plans, then you'll have some breathing room.

Make sure you sign up for alerts and check flight status before you leave for the airport. Things happen quickly in the airline world. Pilots don’t show up, bad weather causes delays and cancellations, all types of things that can drag a trip down.

You'll want to be aware of delays and cancellations as soon as possible so sign up for whatever the airline you’re flying on offers: the option of receiving text, email, or in-app notifications about changes to their itinerary, including delays and cancellations. If your trip is delayed or canceled, know what options you have, including other flights heading to your destination. 

Whatever you do…

The airline industry is a royal mess right now and the pressure of summer travel is only going to complicate things further. No matter where you’re going, it’s important to know what’s going on so if you run into a problem you know what to do and these two websites will do the trick.

The Department of Transportation’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard. If something goes wrong, you’ll be able to quickly find what the airlines are supposed to be doing to take care of you and the situation as well as who’s committed to doing what they’re supposed to do and the laggards.

The other is FlightAware.com. This site is ConsumerAffairs’ go-to for things like delays and cancellations and within a matter of seconds, anyone can find out where their flight is, what flights are canceled, which ones are delayed, what airports are having issues, and something called a “Misery Map” that isolates each airport and shows what routes are experiencing problems.

If you’re planning to rent an Airbnb residence anytime down the road and throw a party, you better look for someplace else. The company is rolling out measures across the country to help reduce the risk of disruptive and unauthorized parties – especially over major holidays like the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

By and large, most Airbnb renters are probably good guests and happy just to have a place to relax, but the company says it has been forced to act because lately, some guests have broken the rules. 

“Our anti-party system for the upcoming holiday weekends aims to help do this by taking steps to identify certain potentially higher-risk one-night and two-night booking attempts by guests of entire home listings, and preventing those bookings from being made,” the company wrote in a recent blog post.

“The system looks at factors relating to the guest’s account and their booking attempt that may indicate a higher risk for a disruptive or unauthorized party incident, like whether the guest has a history of positive reviews (or lack of positive reviews), the distance to the listing, whether the booking is last-minute, among other considerations.”

The filters guests have to get past

Depending on how you look at computer systems that analyze people and situations based on the information a person inputs when making a reservation, Airbnb’s anti-party filters don’t play around. The system will not only block home bookings that are identified as potentially higher-risk, but it tells guests right up front that if they break the rules, they may be subject to suspension or removal from the platform.  

Overall, Airbnb’s filters appear to be doing their job. The company says that since introducing its party ban in August 2020, it’s seen a global 55% year-over-two-year decrease in the rate of party reports. 

However, computers can be fallible.

Unfortunately, in situations where a system is constructed to “think” a certain way based on the information that’s imputed, the human on the other end who gets rejected has little immediate recourse.

There were a number of ConsumerAffairs reviewers who were stung by Airbnb’s anti-party filters in some rather befuddling ways.

“Traveling on business for the last 40 years, and with many more to go, I was thrilled to see Airbnb. My reviews are all 5-star excellent. This week, for no reason whatsoever, the Airbnb computer rudely informed me that I was booking for a party,” Joe of St. Albert Calif., wrote. 

“I'm an old guy who doesn't drink and is asleep by 9 pm nightly. I'm not sure how Airbnb thinks it's appropriate to offend people like that. Particularly as a regular business traveler, I can't deal with a flaky company whose computer algorithms override common sense.”

Another person who booked with Airbnb got rejected by the anti-party filter because they showed signs of a potential party. Alexis from Gainesville Fla., said she spent 40 minutes on the phone with Airbnb, only to be told that someone else would contact me in 24-48 hours. That time came and went, though, and so was the listing. 

“When I finally found somewhere else for us to go in a different city because the other was unavailable. I still got the same error message and nothing was resolved. They are still passing me around to other people. I will not use them in the future.”

Airbnb responsds

If an Airbnb guest would like to appeal this decision, they can do so by contacting the company. Here's more info.

As summer travel begins this Friday – Memorial Day weekend – and continues through Labor Day, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is preparing airport security checkpoints nationwide to screen high volumes of passengers.

About 2.6 million passengers are expected to be screened on Friday, May 26, the busiest day of the long weekend.

Many of those passengers may not have flown in a while and the TSA suggests they get caught up on all the changes. Even those who have flown in the last few months may be in for a couple of nuances as well.

Here’s what the agency shared with ConsumerAffairs:

Update on TSA PreCheck

Any parent or guardian already enrolled in TSAPrecheck can now accompany teens aged 13-17 to a TSA PreCheck screening when the TSA PreCheck indicator appears on the teen's boarding pass. Children 12 and under may accompany an enrolled parent or guardian without restriction at any time.

“Passengers can help as well by being prepared, by having their identification ready when they begin screening and checking to make sure they aren’t bringing firearms, oversized liquids or any other prohibited item into the checkpoint,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “One person’s actions can delay screening for everyone else.”

Are you who you say you are?

TSA is deploying new technology solutions nationwide to modernize airport checkpoints, enhance security effectiveness, and improve the passenger experience. Credential Authentication Technology (CAT) units now verify a passenger's identification credentials, flight details, and pre-screening status, such as TSA PreCheck, without a boarding pass. With CAT, passengers only need to provide their acceptable photo identification to the officer. 

But, heads up – TSA officers may perform additional passenger verification if they think it’s needed.

If anyone is worried about their images being scanned, the agency said that those travelers may opt out in favor of an alternative identity verification process without losing their place in line. 

More scrutiny of carry-ons

TSA recently installed new state-of-the-art Computed Tomography (CT) units nationwide, which the agency says greatly improves scanning and threat detection capabilities for carry-on bags. 

The upside is that the new CT units give TSA officers the ability to review a 3-D image of passengers’ bags while reducing the need to physically search the contents of those bags. That means that travelers screened in security lanes with CT units no longer have to remove their 3-1-1 liquids or laptops, but they must place every carry-on item, including bags, into a bin for screening. 

Pack an empty bag

The TSA says that it’s been monitoring what trends are happening at U.S. airports and recommends that travelers start with a completely empty bag and take a minute to know what items can be carried on before they go. 

“When airline passengers begin packing for travel with an empty bag, they are less likely to be stopped at the security checkpoint for having prohibited items. Prior to packing that empty bag, check TSA’s What Can I Bring? tool to know what is prohibited,” the agency noted. 

Guns’ll getcha!

One huge concern is the number of firearms that passengers have tried to get through security checkpoints in the last few months. TSA officers intercepted 1,508 firearms at airport security checkpoints during the first quarter of 2023 – more than 93% of them loaded. 

If you try to get a firearm through security, you will get stopped, maybe fined, and the government will confiscate your gun and you won't get it back.

And that fine isn’t cheap, either. Trying to bring a loaded firearm or unloaded firearm with accessible ammunition in a carry-on could cost you $3,000 - $10,700, plus a criminal referral. Unloaded firearms carry a potential fine of  $1,500 - $5,370 + criminal referral for anyone who tries to bring one through a TSA checkpoint. 

For anyone who wants to travel with a firearm, the rule is simple: “You may still travel with a firearm – it just must be properly packed in your checked baggage and you must declare it to the airline,” Pekoske said. 

If you fly Southwest Airlines a lot and have been enjoying the airline’s option to pay a little extra to board sooner, your pocketbook will be enjoying that feature a little less the next time you fly.

In an internal memo shared with View from the Wing, Southwest’s Upgraded Boarding -- which used to cap out at $50 -- will now cost between $30 and $80 depending on the length and popularity of each flight. And those dollar figures can change at any time, too.

“The airline gave employees talking points that are… somewhat suspect,” View from the Wing’s Gary Leff wrote. “They claim to be doing [this] to ‘protect the value’ that Upgraded Boarding ‘offers to our customers’ as the feature ‘becomes more popular on specific routes.’ But this makes no sense at all.”

Southwest's side of the story

Southwest sees it differently, though. “This is another way we’re different. Other airlines charge you fees for things you need or have to have. This is a service that has a value that some customers are willing to purchase. When they do, it helps us keep fares low for everyone,” the company’s memo said.

When Leff asked the airline for a direct response, their official statement was this:

“Upgraded Boarding is one of Southwest’s most popular ancillary products, allowing customers the option to buy an upgraded boarding position in Group A1-A15 (when available). We’ve shared with our employees that Upgraded Boarding now will be offered in a variable range of $30 to $80. Upgraded Boarding price points will work the same as they do today whereby prices can vary based on the length and popularity of each flight. Price points within the new range are subject to change at any time, as they do today. We hope our customers continue to enjoy this product.”

The only people escaping this change are those who hold one of Southwest’s premium co-brand cards from Chase. They’ll still be able to do their free four-times-a-year boarding upgrades without paying or being charged extra.

Just ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, summer travel challenges may be building. Southwest Airlines pilots have voted to authorize a strike if contract negotiations fail.

Earlier this month pilots at American Airlines, who are also in contract negotiations with the carrier, took similar action.

That’s not to say pilots at either airline will actually go on strike, but it’s enough to make travelers booked on either of the airlines later in the summer nervous. Airline capacity has already been reduced because of fewer pilots. A reduction in American and Southwest flights would place added strain on the system.

At this point, almost no one is anticipating a Southwest strike, even though 99% of pilots gave the green light. Industry experts say the strike vote is likely a muscle-flexing move to put pressure on the airline to agree to a favorable deal. For its part, the airline doesn't appear worried.

“We are staffed and prepared to welcome travelers for their summer travel plans,” Southwest said in a statement.

The airline industry is different from other types of businesses when it comes to work stoppages. Under federal law, union employees at the nation’s airlines can’t walk out unless a mediator has determined further negotiations are pointless.

A number of grievances

Still, Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA) President Casey Murray suggests the union has a number of grievances and will drive a hard bargain.

 "The lack of leadership and the unwillingness to address the failures of our organization have led us to this point,” Murray said. “Our pilots are tired of apologizing to our passengers on behalf of a company that refuses to place its priorities on its internal and external customers."

New rules proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) may also put added pressure on the two airlines. DOT has started the rulemaking process with the goal of requiring airlines to give stranded passengers compensation and reimbursement for meals, hotels, and rebooking when the airline is responsible for flight cancellations. 

When an airline is responsible for stranding passengers at an airport, what should it do for those customers? Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg says it's pretty clear -- passengers deserve compensation and reimbursement for meals, hotels, and rebooking. 

This week, Buttigieg’s DOT announced plans to launch a new rulemaking aimed directly at bringing that wish all the way home.

The DOT has been after this for two years, trying to reverse the trend of negative airline passenger experience and it’s got a lot to show for its efforts. The 10 largest airlines now guarantee meals and free rebooking on the same airline and nine guarantee hotel accommodations as part of the Department’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard at the new FlightRights.gov. Also on the new dashboard are updated commitments airlines have made to allowing families to sit together for free.

The arm twisting that still remains

Buttigieg wants these changes to be mandatory. However, he's got some work to do because no airline has committed to offering everything the DOT wants, at least not yet. 

The closest to perfect is Alaska Airlines which checks seven of the eight commitment boxes for “controllable cancellations” and JetBlue which checks six of the eight. 

Dragging their feet on what the DOT wants are Frontier, which has agreed to only two of eight things the DOT is asking for, and Allegiant which has agreed to only four commitments.

The one glaring holdout that no airline has said yes to is “cash compensation when a cancelation results in passengers waiting for three hours or more from the scheduled departure time.”

Given how that commitment could become a backbreaker, the DOT’s new proposal allows for vouchers/credit, frequent flier miles, as well as cash when a cancelation or delay results in passengers waiting for three hours or more for scheduled departure time.

“When an airline causes a flight cancelation or delay, passengers should not foot the bill,” Buttigieg said. “This rule would, for the first time in U.S. history, propose to require airlines to compensate passengers and cover expenses such as meals, hotels, and rebooking in cases where the airline has caused a cancelation or significant delay.” 

Travelers speak out on what airlines to avoid

If anyone hasn’t booked their summer travel, yet, and the DOT’s new dashboard gives them pause on a certain airline, there’s also a new survey from TheVacationer where Americans had a chance to voice their own opinion on which airlines they avoid flying on at all costs, too. Drum roll, please…

1. Spirit Airlines — 21.06%

2. Allegiant Air — 16.36%

3. American Airlines — 14.40%

4. Frontier Airlines — 14.30%

5. Delta Air Lines — 12.63%

6. JetBlue — 12.63%

7. Alaska Airlines — 10.68%

8. Southwest Airlines — 10.28%

9. United Airlines — 7.64%

10. Hawaiian Airlines — 5.48%

“This means more than one out of every five people you come across will not fly on Spirit under any circumstances,” TheVacationer’s Eric Jones said. “Based on the recent census, the 21.06% that said this equates to more than 54 million people. Having had a few bad experiences with Spirit myself, I can see why Spirit won the contest of airline Americans are most likely to avoid at all costs.”

Jones added that despite these numbers, nearly half of American adults do not avoid flying on any airline. And the reasons they give are because cost and flight dates and times are the most important factors.

“With continued inflation, there should be no surprise that nearly one-third of all American adults said the cost of the flight is most important to them regardless of the airline,” Jones added.

The kickoff of the summer travel season is still a month away, but with all we’ve seen this year already – Southwest’s computer glitch, American pilots voting to strike, and airlines pulling out of markets – anyone flying this summer should be ready for things to go haywire. 

There will probably be the usual weather-related cancellations and delays, but Scott Keyes of Going.com says that the domino that’s in the most precarious position is that Delta, United, JetBlue, and American have gotten the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approval allowing them to cut back on flights.

Travelers might think there’s a lot that could go wrong given the FAA’s okay, but these preemptive cuts are meant to result in fewer disruptions and less last-minute scrambling down the line. 

“On the other hand, travel demand is at its highest all year, meaning the system is more strained. During the summer, there are comparatively fewer airplanes on reserve—they’re all out flying—so when flights get canceled, there are fewer back-ups to take their place,” Keyes explained to ConsumerAffairs.

The impacts and the options – both good and bad

While this runway of cutbacks may be paved with good intentions, Keyes said that the worst part of this flight cancellation circus is that while it means fewer flights, it could also mean higher fares.

“However, there are a few groups of travelers that these cancellations do bode well for. First, people who have already booked their flights into or out of New York. You’ve already locked in a lower price than the people who have yet to book and are now seeing fares spike. Plus your flight is now more likely to arrive on time.

Keyes said the second group of travelers who are in luck are people whose flights get canceled. It’s frustrating enough anytime a flight is canceled, but in this situation, there are several silver linings, especially when they’re canceled this far in advance. 

Request a full cash refund: “If the new flight does not work for you, you have the right to get your money back,” Keyes said.

Accept the airline’s new booking: If an airline cancels a flight, the airline will probably rebook the flier on a new flight automatically. And if that new flight works for the traveler’s schedule, all’s good!

Request a different flight: Keyes told ConsumerAffairs that if an airline rebooks someone on a new flight that doesn’t work with the traveler’s plans, they can request a different flight at no additional charge.

“This can work in your favor if your original flight was a less-than-ideal itinerary—say it left super in the morning or you had a long layover. You can switch to an optimal itinerary, like one that leaves a little later or is a direct flight,” he said.

A reason to love New York

For those in New York: Keyes says that for people flying in or out of New York City – the U.S.’ largest market with four regional airports in the mix – these cuts are not ideal, but his researchers found a somewhat under-the-radar group of travelers that benefits from those NYC-area flight cancellations.

“Take JetBlue, for instance. When JetBlue cuts flights for the summer, those pilots, planes, and crews get reallocated to other JetBlue flights around the country, meaning that there is added capacity in other JetBlue destinations and lower fares in those cities than you would’ve otherwise seen,” Keyes said. “So if you’re flying into or out of Fort Lauderdale, you may see more flights and lower fares thanks to these New York cuts.”

“The knee-jerk reaction to a canceled flight is to be frustrated, and we definitely get why. Upon closer inspection, canceled flights this summer can actually open up your options, whether you’re looking to reclaim some money, book a better flight, or take advantage of airline deals from other airports around the country,” Keyes concluded.

Flying on American Airlines (AA) anytime soon? You better keep tabs on your flight because the 15,000-strong Allied Pilots Association (APA) has voted in favor of authorizing a strike.

This push-come-to-shove couldn’t happen at a better time for those pilots. They have a busy travel schedule around the corner and that will no doubt give them some leverage in working out an agreement.

“The summer travel season is almost here, and we’re all wondering whether this will be another summer of uncertainty for American Airlines,” said Ed Sicher, APA President. “Fortunately, there is an alternative. By embracing the win-win scheduling and work rule improvements APA has presented at the bargaining table, management can take steps to improve the airline’s operational reliability and efficiency.”

In a demonstration of their resolve, APA members will conduct informational picketing today at all 10 of the airline's major hubs: Boston (BOS), Charlotte (CLT), Chicago (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (LGA), Philadelphia (PHL), Phoenix (PHX), and Washington, D.C. (DCA).

"We remain confident that an agreement for our pilots is within reach and can be finalized quickly. The finish line is in sight," American Airlines said in an email to ConsumerAffairs.

"We understand that a strike authorization vote is one of the important ways pilots express their desire to get a deal done and we respect the message of voting results. Importantly, the results don’t change our commitment or distract us from working expeditiously to complete a deal. We remain focused on completing the handful of matters necessary to reach an agreement our pilots deserve."

What American customers need to know

A spokesperson for APA said that there shouldn’t be an immediate effect on travel plans, but that all depends on what happens at the negotiating table. 

The APA spokesperson said the 67 canceled and 92 delayed AA flight interruptions currently shown on FlightAware are not related to the picketing and that all of the pilots participating in the picket line were already scheduled to be off-duty on Monday. 

Anyone holding a ticket on American flights should frequently check their AA app or the airline’s website for any changes in their scheduled departure.

If you’re flying somewhere this summer and think you’ll be hungry or thirsty by the time you get on the plane, you’ll certainly wind up paying the prices airport food vendors are charging these days. 

Travelers have had enough of overpriced food and drink, like $27 for a Sam Adams beer and $18 for a small pepperoni pizza, but one travel expert says that if you play your cards right, you can get inside a major airline’s lounge for little to nothing and eat and drink to your heart’s content.

You also get to escape those noisy waiting areas and time scouring the hallways looking for a power outlet to charge your devices. Some lounges even have showers for travelers looking for a quick refresh.

“With so many ways to get lounge access today, from credit cards, lounge membership programs, and day passes, a comfortable space with amenities is never too far out of reach,” Katy Nastro of Going.com, told ConsumerAffairs.

“If you’re considering paying high markups on sour patch kids and pretzels, why not use those funds towards a relaxing space with unlimited snacks and fast wifi while you’re at it?”

Two 'free’ish' ways into an airport lounge

Nastro's primer on how a traveler can get access to lounge life is fairly 1-2-3’ish. On top of automatic lounge access for those flying in First or Business class or who have Elite status with an airline because of all the miles they’ve acquired, there are also ways to get in for free, too. 

There are two “frees” – one truly free and one sort of free. If you’re a member of the military, American Airlines Admirals Club and United Airlines United Club both offer complimentary lounge access to active military members who present their military ID and same-day ticket on that airline, in any class at the lounge door. American Airlines requires you to be in uniform, while United does not, Nastro said.

The other “free” is when a traveler has a certain credit card. You’ve probably seen all those airline-branded credit card offers land in your mailbox over the years and as competition has gotten fiercer, the deals have gotten sweeter. Many credit cards include complimentary lounge access as a cardholder benefit, as ConsumerAffairs Kathryn Parkman found, including Chase Sapphire Reserve and the American Express Platinum card.

However, when it comes to airline-branded credit cards, remember that it’s “pay to play” and most any credit card that provides lounge access charges an annual fee – and those can run anywhere from under $100 to more than $500. Nastro tosses in this reminder for those situations: in addition to being a cardholder, you may also need to enroll in a lounge’s membership program before you receive your lounge benefits.

“Check your credit card’s details for more info before you travel,” she said.

Day and annual passes

The two most intriguing lounge access suggestions Nastro shared are subscription-based – where a person buys access to an airport lounge for a day or a year.

Examples that Nastro gave for day passes are American Airlines Admirals Club and United Airlines United Club. Passes can be purchased for $59 by those flying either the parent airline or a partner airline. 

As for longer-term passes, he suggests a company called Priority Pass that allows travelers to pick and choose access to about 1,300 airport lounges in 650 airports across 148 countries. Memberships range from $99 to $429. 

For travelers who want a specific perk, the amenities at participating lounges range from comped refreshments and free wi-fi to spa treatments, massage rooms, and sleeping areas, Nastro said. Parkman noted that one credit card that includes free Priority Pass membership as a card benefit is Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Southwest Airlines (SWA) had another hiccup, Tuesday -- one that's added to the hacking cough of cancelations and delays the airline has been through this over the last four months.

The company suspended all flights on Tuesday morning to work through data connection issues resulting from a firewall failure, according to the airline. By the end of the day according to FlightAware, 2,414 flights were delayed – 57% of those scheduled -- and 14 canceled completely.

“We ask that travelers use Southwest.com to check flight status or visit a Southwest Airlines Customer Service Agent at the airport for assistance with travel needs. We appreciate the patience of our Customers and Employees during this morning’s brief disruption,” the airline said in a statement.

As for early Thursday, all appears to be good -- for now. When ConsumerAffairs checked Flight Aware disruptions, there were none reported by SWA.

How travel insurance would’ve helped those caught in this situation

Analysts at Squaremouth.com, a travel insurance comparison and quoting engine, shared insight on travel insurance coverage for SWA’s impacted flights and said that those who have a travel insurance policy may be covered if their trip was impacted by the Southwest travel disruption. The most likely benefit to apply is Travel Delay. 

“Many policies can cover ‘any delay of a common carrier’,” the analysts said in an email to ConsumerAffairs. “In this case, the Travel Delay benefit can refund your expenses during a significant delay, including coverage for meals and accommodations. In order for coverage to apply, the delay must last three to 12 hours, depending on the policy.”

Specifically, if a delay forces a traveler to miss their connecting flight, they may also be covered for additional costs needed to catch up to their trip. 

“While today’s disruption did not lead to many outright cancellations, if your original Southwest flight was delayed more than 12 hours and you were forced to cancel your trip, your travel insurance policy’s Trip Cancellation benefit can cover your prepaid and non-refundable trip costs. Travelers whose flights were canceled can also contact Southwest directly for a refund,” Squaremouth said.

It added that if Southwest’s problems continue, it has prepared a special Southwest Travel Disruption Travel Insurance Information Center that breaks down coverage information for travelers and offers updates as the situation unfolds.

American, Frontier, and United have cut some flights from their schedules due to delays in delivering new jets and a shortage of pilots. And, nope, we’re not back in COVID-19, either.

Reports from various sources say that the impact will hit both big and small markets alike.

A spokesperson for United put the blame on the U.S. pilot shortage that’s affecting regional carriers more than long-haulers.

“But pilots are not the only issue,” AirlineWeekly’s Edward Russell said. “Continuing aircraft delivery delays at Airbus and Boeing have also hamstrung airline schedules; the latest example being American’s decision to suspend flights between Philadelphia and Madrid in May and June due to late Boeing 787 deliveries.”

Russell says that there's a third problem – a shortage of air traffic controllers – which caused the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to step in and suspend usage rules for 10% of the slots at airports in New York and Washington, D.C.

Frontier’s cutting 14 routes

Frontier is also chopping some of its routes, but basically because they’re dead weight. A Frontier Airlines spokesperson told The Points Guy that it periodically reviews and updates routes based on demand, seasonality, and other factors. It’s not pulling out of 13 of those markets completely, but it is hanging it up in Rochester, N.Y., (ROC) where its bread and butter has been regular flights to and from Orlando. Those flights will cease on May 8. 

United chops 17

United is completely getting out of Erie, Pa., and will cut 16 other regional routes from its network. The Points Guy reported the changes, outlining everything that’s getting taken off the board. They include:

Chicago O’Hare to Bismarck, N.D.; Charlottesville, Va.; Jackson, Miss.; Pasco-Tri-Cities, Wash.; and Redmond, Ore. 

Denver to Dayton, Ohio. 

Houston Bush to Alexandria, La.; Columbia, S.C.; and Akron, Ohio

Newark to Oklahoma City; Omaha, Neb.; and Knoxville, Tenn.

Washington Dulles to Allentown, Pa.; Lexington, Ky.; Madison, Wis.; Oklahoma City; and Pensacola, Fla. 

American’s cuts hit Philadelphia pretty hard

American had already announced plans to eliminate 3,729 flights – about 10% – from its summer schedule at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). Those flights won’t operate from June through August. writes Holden Wilen and Emma Dooling at Philadelphia Business Journal.

Do you have a reservation on one of these routes?

It's a safe bet that any airline that cuts a flight from its schedule will make things right with the traveler. For example, in American's situation, a spokesperson said anyone whose flights were changed will be granted alternate options and, if there’s a traveler who can’t be accommodated, refunds will be available because of the airline’s schedule-changing policy. You can find United's schedule change policy here, and Frontier's here.

For the next few weeks, airports are going to be bustling with travelers trying to get to their spring break destinations, but AirHelp, an air passenger rights company, says that some airports aren’t equipped to handle the influx.

Based on its data of airports with the most flight disruptions in the month of February – AirHelp says it’s putting travelers on alert that they should be prepared to sit and wait at certain airports.

Going to Hawaii? Thru Dallas? Anywhere in Nevada?

At the top of the list of airports with the highest percentage of flight disruptions is Kahului Airport (OGG) in Mauiwhere 30.82% of flights were disrupted last month. 

The others in the Top 5 were:

• Reno/Tahoe International Airport (RNO): 29.15% of flights disrupted;
• Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport (LAS): 28.52% of flights disrupted;
• Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): 28.51% of flights disrupted; and
• Boston's Logan International Airport (BOS): 28.23% of flights disrupted.

When it comes to flight cancellations, anyone going through, to, or from Dallas might want to rethink their routing. Dallas had two airports in the top five for the highest percentage of canceled flights in February – Dallas Love Field (4.85%) and Dallas/Fort Worth International (4.6%). 

Students at the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville campus shouldn’t have any problems flying out, though. AirtHelp deemed McGhee Tyson Airport outside Knoxville worthy of the country's most reliable airport with over 85% of flights leaving on time in February.

One more ski trip, a flight to Florida?

Thinking about trying to sneak in one last ski trip? AirHelp analysts said that you’d be better off going through Salt Lake City International than Denver because it has fewer flights disrupted.

Flying to the sunny South? The analysts give the nod to Jacksonville and Tampa as Florida’s two best airports, both with under 18% of total flights disrupted. If you’re going to South Florida, however, patience will be necessary.

“If you’re heading to Miami, fly directly to Miami and avoid West Palm or Fort Lauderdale, which canceled a higher percentage of flights than Miami International,” the analysts said.

For reliable travel and warm weather, the best bet is Georgia because both Savannah/Hilton Head (84.15% of flights left on time) and Hartsfield Jackson in Atlanta have reliability of nearly 85% when it comes to flights leaving on time.

Should you fly stand-by if you think a flight departure is risky?

Flight cancellations and delays can domino like crazy! If your flight gets canceled, then you and the umpteen others on that flight will be rebooked on another flight, but that other flight also has people already on it so the airline has to figure out a way to fit both groups of fliers on the same flight. If there's more than one delay or cancelation, then that situation multiplies even further. 

Scott Keyes of Going.com suggests flying standby on an earlier flight if one’s available. Keyes told ConsumerAffairs that it’s pretty much a slam dunk if there's space on the flight, you already have a ticket for a flight, and you’re trying to get on an earlier one. 

The only thing that you’ll have to work out with the airline is if there’s space available in the same fare class as your already existing flight. It’s possible that if there’s a fare discrepancy you’ll have to pay extra to sit in Business or First, but that’s an airline-to-airline matter and one you’ll have to deal with and decide whether it’s worth the extra money in those situations. 

Revisiting new changes for families and delayed/canceled flights

Don’t forget – the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has made some changes to what airlines must do in cases where families are flying together and flights are either canceled or delayed.

To get current with what those changes are and what airlines are required to do and at what point, all you need to do is visit the DOT’s special travel dashboard available here.

The latest Air Travel Consumer Report is out and it shows that airlines have their work cut out for them if they want to please their passengers. On-time arrivals and departure, luggage, and flight cancelations appear to be issues.

Airlines have work to do… lots

Overall, there’s some serious work to be done. Complaints were up more than double from the latest report vs. a year ago. The biggest complaint categories shake out like this:

1. Refunds -- about 30% of all complaints

2. Flight problems (delays, etc.) 

3. Baggage 

4. Fares 

5. Reservations

Here are some highlights ConsumerAffairs found interesting:

On-time arrivals. Getting somewhere on-time is crucial and must be on the lips of every Delta pilot in that airline’s workforce. Its percentage of on-time arrivals was a domestic airline best at 85.5%. United was second at 83.9% and Southwest* was third at 81%. Bringing up the rear was Frontier with its flights landing when they were supposed to 64.6% of the time. *It's important to note that these reports lag by a couple of months and Southwest’s holiday troubles were not included.

Baggage woes continue to grow. If you’ve flown lately, you’ve noticed that more and more travelers are bringing their bags with them in the cabin. They have a good reason, too. The report shows that the number of baggage-related complaints the Department of Transportation has received has quadrupled in the last year. 

When it came to “mishandled baggage” per 100 people on a flight, it was American at 0.76 bags per 100, then Alaska (.62), and JetBlue (.58). Allegiant had the fewest number of “mishandled baggage” complaints per 100 fliers with 0.15.

Sorry, you’re not getting on. When it comes to who’s not getting on a flight – “involuntary,” “denied boardings” – American, Southwest, and Frontier have some explaining to do. Each of those carriers drew complaints more than 1,000 times between July and September ‘22, with Frontier complaints jumping 64%, Southwest complaints jumping 57%, and American complaints 35% from the same period in ‘21.

One truly amazing metric was how Delta and Allegiant fared on the good side of the “involuntary,” “denied boarding” scoreboard. Out of 34,955,144 flights Delta put up during the period tracked, the airline suffered zero complaints regarding being denied boarding; and while Allegiant only put 397 flights in the air, it still had zero complaints, too.

Refund? What refund? When it came to problems in obtaining refunds for unused or lost tickets, fare adjustments, or bankruptcies, Frontier (236), American (146), and United (107) scored the most complaints. With the added effort American has put toward improving consumer perception about refunds, it probably hopes this is the last time it shows up near the top of this category.

“Not fair” fares! The report showed that when it came to fare issues such as discount fare conditions, Frontier scored the most complaints (104) among the major U.S. carriers, more than double what Spirit received (40), and about triple what American did (35). Delta Air Lines received 30 complaints about fare issues and Southwest 10.

Because of the airline industry’s holiday collapse, some wannabe travelers might be thinking of other options to get to their vacation destination. Bus? Train? Renting a car? RV?

On the surface, they all seem expensive and, in fact, can be. But one travel blogger who went the RV route insists that when gas, accommodations, meals, etc. are figured into the equation, renting an RV may offer more upside than most people realize.

“This topic of airline travel fees vs the cost of an RV road trip came up after I, along with many others, experienced the stress, panic, and cost of travel this past holiday,” Megan Meade told ConsumerAffairs.”

“After our flights to and from the Midwest were canceled the night before we had to leave, our plan of catching a cheap flight turned into a hectic rescheduling for some much more expensive tickets and the loss of a day on our trip. This got me thinking, how much would it have cost us to just take our RV and make a road trip out of it?”

Meade said that thanks to some online tools like the U.S. government’s fuel trip calculator and tips from blogs on calculating the price of an RV road trip, she was able to get a good idea of just how much her 1,200-mile trip from the east coast to the Midwest would set her back. She said she took everything she could into account, including a one-night stop at a campground each way, a high-end estimate on the price of gas, and tolls. 

When it was all added up, Meade said that while the estimated cost of gas seemed off the chart – like $840 – everything added together was about the cost of one to one-and-a-half airline tickets. 

And Fido rides free!

One plus that Meade brought to our attention is that she was able to avoid the cost of boarding – or shipping – her dog.

That factor alone saved her around $350, making the savings for this trip far more considerable, she said.

“In total, the cost of an RV road trip would have cost in the ballpark of $1,000-$1,200. This is $600 less than what it cost us to fly, including the additional expense to leave our pup behind,” was her takeaway.

“These savings alone are enough to make me strongly reconsider flying for our next trip, but one day when kids are added to the mix, we will definitely be skipping the stress of airline travel and embracing the life-long memories that come with family road trips whenever possible.”

RV parks are all-in on upgrades, too

Meade apparently isn’t alone in using an RV for her vacation transportation. All told, more than 70 million Americans did the same in 2022, 10 million more than they did in COVID-heavy 2021.

To meet the rush, campground owners are finding they need to up their game, too, if they want to stay in business. On top of natural add-ins like wi-fi, sustainability, and environmental impact to meet the expectations of the younger, more diverse traveler, Steve Mwan at RVPlusYou says campground owners are being nudged to find unique overnight options that might appeal to demographics who’ve written off  RVing as old-fogey stuff.

“For the road-weary traveler who has spent too many nights in a cramped RV, onsite lodging can be a welcome relief. Getting creative with your accommodations is a clever way to appeal to a wider range of campers,” Mwan said.

“People are increasingly interested in unique or unusual accommodations, so you can add options such as cabins, yurts, teepees, tree houses, or vintage trailers. You can even include bio-domes or hammocks for those who want to soak in the stars.”

Just in time for Spring Break travels, United Airlines announced its new system that will allow families to book seats next to each other for no additional cost. 

The new process is geared toward families with children under the age of 12 years old. Travelers will now be able to book adjoining seats for themselves and their young children without paying extra. 

“In an era where more families are working in a hybrid environment, they’re traveling more often – and they’re flying United,” said Linda Jojo, chief customer officer for United. “We’re focused on delivering a great experience for our younger passengers and their parents and know it often starts with the right seat. We look forward to rolling out more family-friendly features this year.” 

Updated seat maps will help families sit together

With this update, fliers will be automatically directed to a new seat map that will highlight seats that are next to each other. This will make it easier for parents to see where there are openings and where they’ll be able to sit with their kids. 

The new policy will also give travelers options when adjoining seats aren’t available. When traveling with kids on a flight that is full or when an aircraft gets changed, consumers will have the opportunity to switch their flight – at no cost – to get seats that are next to each other. 

The goal of this new system is for parents to avoid having to ask flight attendants or their fellow travelers to switch seats so their children can be next to them. 

Additionally, parents won’t have to worry about getting randomly assigned seats. The new policy will be available for travelers who purchase Basic Economy seats – a tier where seats are usually not assigned until fliers check in or get to their gates. 

There are a few tiers of tickets that won’t fall under this new policy, including: Economy Plus, United Polaris, and United First Class. 

United will begin rolling out these updates immediately, and all travelers will have access to them starting in the first week of March. 

Southwest Airlines, under fire after its widespread holiday cancellation issues, is turning a page and announcing new flights that are scheduled to run through nearly the end of the year. 

Southwest released its entire schedule through October 4, 2023, and also announced new flights, as well as flights that will become available throughout the year from some of the biggest markets across the country. 

What can fliers expect? 

One of the biggest announcements is the expansion of flights from Long Beach, California, to other destinations across the country – without layovers. These are the anticipated adjustments: 

• Beginning March 9: daily nonstop service between Long Beach and Kansas City 

• Beginning July 11: daily nonstop service between Long Beach and Colorado Springs and El Paso 

• Beginning July 15: Saturday nonstop service between Long Beach and Orlando

• Beginning September 5: daily nonstop service between Long Beach and Albuquerque 

The expansion comes after much demand from customers to offer more direct flights from Long Beach to other major cities within the U.S. 

Later in the year, fliers can expect the addition of more nonstop flights from various markets across the country. Many of these will be seasonal weekend flights while others will run on a daily basis. 

Some of these include: 

• Beginning September 5: daily nonstop service between Baltimore/Washington International Airport and Oakland 

• Beginning September 5: daily nonstop service between Las Vegas and Little Rock 

• Beginning September 9: nonstop weekend service between Dallas and Philadelphia 

• Beginning September 9: nonstop weekend service between Los Angeles and Portland

• Beginning September 10: nonstop Sunday service between Boston and Houston 

More of the updated routes for the remainder of the year can be found here. 

Airlines have been served notice that what happened with the great Southwest Night Before Christmas meltdown can’t happen again.

Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Edward Markey (D-MA) have introduced two new bills – the Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights and the Forbidding Airlines from Imposing Ridiculous (FAIR) Fees Act – imploring Congress to set things right once and for all.

“Airlines need to be given some incentives to do the right thing and consumers need protection,” said Blumenthal, calling the expenses and hardship from recent delays and cancellations, “just one example of what happens every day to many consumers across the country because they have no bill of rights right now.”

In Blumenthal's mind, this couldn’t be simpler – or more bipartisan. To him, this Bill of Rights provides practical, tangible guarantees that would ensure airlines provide passengers with fair compensation, refunds, and recourse in the event of airline-caused flight delays and cancellations. 

“If Southwest faced these kinds of potential penalties and consumer class action, it might have updated its IT system," Blumenthal said. "It might have revised its point-to-point travel system. And it would have done the right thing voluntarily rather than incur these humongous disruptions and expenses to its consumer. There’s nothing Republican or Democrat about being stranded in an airport.”

The latest winter storm showed that airlines are being more responsive already

As anyone who's observed part of this week’s news cycle knows, winter storm Mara that blasted the South, canceling thousands of flights and sending airlines that fly Southern U.S. routes into we-can't-let-what-happened-to-Southwest-happen-to-us mode. 

Southwest to its credit responded quickly issuing weather waivers that allowed passengers to reschedule their flights at no cost. American did the same.

New expert suggestions on what stranded passengers can do

Mother Nature doesn’t always broadcast her intentions, but it’s evident she hasn’t been happy lately. According to new numbers from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 20.12% (144,515) of all flights in the U.S. were delayed in 2022, up from 16% (86,307) in 2021 – a huge swing that impacted more than 60,000 flights and all the travelers who planned to be on board those flights.

United Airlines' CEO has already sent up a flare, warning that more disruptions are ahead. Until all of this is resolved, however, travelers don't have that many good options.  

For any hesitant traveler, the standard issue rules of the road (er, sky) still apply – fly nonstop and use only carry-on bags. ConsumerAffairs found a couple of additional new tricks that might help travelers out if a cancellation happens to them.

Clint Henderson at ThePointsGuy recommends that those who have to check bags should use Apple AirTags in their luggage. However, AirTags only work with Apple iPhones, leaving Android users out in the cold – to a degree.

Android users could always use something like PingTag which would allow airlines (or other kind souls) to scan a QR code sticker on a bag and send a message directly to the flier. 

Henderson also recommends that before heading out, check your credit card benefits.

“Your credit card may cover any extra expenses you incur during long delays or cancellations,” he said.

Blake Walsh, travel expert at Travel Lens added that because getting through to an airline’s customer service department can take forever, stranded travelers should use social media to their advantage.

“Sadly, not all customer service teams are as helpful as they should be and getting in touch with them via a phone call isn’t always easy,” he told ConsumerAffairs.

“Airlines value their reputation on social media and platforms like Twitter are a great way to get in contact with an employee. If you do use Twitter to reach out, then it’s important to remain polite and calm as this will work in your favor.”

Is blaming the weather for a flight cancelation too easy for an airline to use as an excuse? Some aviation pundits claim it might be.

During the pandemic, airlines were called out for using weather as an excuse when there was likely a pilot shortage.

However, in the aftermath of Southwest Airlines' recent implosion and with winter not even halfway through its yearly dance, travelers should know how to interpret what an airline really means when it takes a scheduled flight off the board for weather-related reasons.

Southwest agents did try the weather excuse as a reason to deny covering costs for stranded passengers, airline travel expert Gary Leff writes at A View from the Wing, but the cop-out didn’t stick with passengers or the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the airline’s hand was forced to cover any reasonable hotel and alternate transportation expenses passengers were facing.

What airlines are being forced to face now

Leff said that Southwest’s switcheroo has shifted rhetoric in the travel industry over what consumers are owed – and when. As proof, just take a look at the recent CNBC interview with American Airlines CEO Robert Isom where he went on record saying that when a delay or cancelation is the fault of American “we owe the customers.”

“That is likely news to American’s Customer Relations team,” Leff said. “If you send in a request for compensation due to a delay that the carrier stretches to call ‘weather-related’, respond with this clip from their boss’s boss’s boss saying ‘not so fast, when you don’t recover your operation Robert Isom says you owe your customers!’”

ConsumerAffairs reached out to American for comment but did not hear back from the company immediately.

"Squishy," is how another airline expert puts the industry’s definition of weather.

"The definition of weather has expanded a bit," Meara McLaughlin, vice president of business development for flight data site FlightStats.com, told Frommers. 

"It isn't just the conditions at your airport, along the way, or at your destination that count, but weather anywhere in the system that can be invoked. That's because the airlines' so-called ‘hub and spoke’ system relies on aircraft coming from other cities, which could be affected by weather. To my way of thinking, you have to call that something other than weather," she said.

How travelers can avoid 'weather-related' problems

In seasons where weather is iffy – like winter and tornadoes/hurricanes – it’s typical for a major airline to issue weather waivers in advance so travelers have an opportunity to make changes in advance, frequently without having to pay a change fee.

For example, when United Airlines saw nasty forecasts for weather across the Rockies and the Plains, it gave travelers the wherewithal to make changes at no cost. ThriftyTraveler has a list of what waivers other airlines offer, too.

But if all goes to hell in a handbasket and you find yourself at the airport across the counter from an airline agent who’s telling you that your flight is canceled because of weather, you apparently have rights, but getting something satisfactory might take some doing.

“Here in the U.S., travelers have shockingly few rights,” ThriftyTraveler’s Kyle Potter said. “Really, there's just this one: If your airline cancels your flight, you can cancel your reservation and get a full refund – not just a voucher or credit that expires in a year, but your money back. And that includes when weather is the cause of the disruption.”

If the agent is trying to save their hide and their airline the cost of a refund, they might try and rebook you on the next available flight, Potter said. The problem there is that the “next available flight” could be hours – or days – away. Still, “this law means you've got the option to cancel the reservation altogether and get your money back.”

At that point, travelers need to have a serious talk with themselves because a knee-jerk decision could cause the problem to snowball.

“Of course, that means you'd have to scrap your entire trip and try again another time. At the very least, if you decide to call it quits on your trip, make sure to request a full refund – don't just settle for a travel voucher,” Potter said.

Travelers woke up Wednesday morning to a flood of cancellations caused by an overnight outage of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Notice to Air Missions system that provides safety info to flight crews.

By 9 am, FlightAware data listed  4,314 total delays within, into, or out of the United States today. The airport hit the hardest was Baltimore/Washington Intl (BWI) where 41% of the flights were delayed.

Southwest, still reeling from its Christmas holiday meltdown, was also hit heavily. Three Southwest hubs – Chicago Midway (37%), Houston Hobby and Dallas Love (31% each) -- were right behind BWI in delays.

By mid-morning, the FAA was able to get things under control and lift its pause on departures. But, on the heels of the Southwest debacle, the question experts are asking is this: does this point to a fragility of the nation's commercial aviation system, which faces heavier demands as air travel demand increases?

“We continue to look into the cause of the initial problem,” the agency tweeted at 8:50 a.m.

Hello, airlines… hello, Pete!

Yaniv Hakim, CEO and co-founder of CommBox, a company that provides digital customer communications platform to airlines told ConsumerAffairs, “The FAA system failure, like the Southwest Airlines fiasco, shows how important it is that every airline will offer their passengers digital services on messaging channels, and provide both human and virtual AI-powered assistance.”

“Airlines need to step it up and offer communication and self-service tasks such as rebooking or canceling flights to their customers in the easiest way possible, not just through websites and apps.”

Hakim said that instead of customers taking to social media to complain about airlines or waiting for hours on hold, they should be able to quickly and easily take care of their concerns through channels like social media messaging, SMS texting, and WhatsApp. 

“When a traveler is stressed and stranded at an airport, especially during a major disruption - whether human, technical or natural - the last thing they want to do is wait on hold, download an app or listen to irrelevant options from an [interactive voice response] system."

In an email to ConsumerAffairs, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) wasted no time saying that he’s already gotten into Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s ear about the issue.

"I spoke with Secretary Buttigieg about this development and will continue to monitor this disruption to our air travel system until it is resolved."

If there ever was a shout-from-the-mountaintops by consumers, all one needs to do is look at the massive fallout from Southwest’s recent meltdown.

That fact is not lost on Delta Air Lines. On Thursday, CEO Ed Bastian said at this year’s CES conference that the airline will follow through with its promise to make in-flight Wi-Fi free for everyone aboard starting this February. 

“It is going to be free, it is going to be fast, and it is going to be available to everyone,” Bastian said. All a traveler has to do to access the service is login to their SkyMiles account -- and they can connect as many devices as they want, too. 

But…

There has to be at least one “but,” doesn’t there? Delta said that the Wi-Fi rollout will only be available on its aircraft that are equipped with a new system built by satellite internet provider Viasat. So far, about 80% of Delta’s domestic fleet is equipped with Viasat and the company’s goal is to have the service installed on 700 aircraft by the end of 2023 and on all of its flights by the end of 2024.

Will others follow suit?

No other airline played their “me, too” card in response to Delta’s announcement. But since Viasat has systems already in place on JetBlue, United, and American, those carriers might consider dropping their internet fee ($14/day on American) so they don’t lose any business to Delta.