Weather Delays and Cancelations

Why was one airline able to fly from your city to your parents' city, but another could not make it due to weather? Besides, it is sunny here and mom says it is sunny there!

All those insider TikTok tips for what you are entitled to from airlines are under the assumption that your travel woes were created by something the airline could control. And they are right! Make sure you listen to the announcement. Most people stop listening after they hear the word "delay". If you hear it is due to maintenance, staffing or scheduling issues, you are golden! Airlines cannot control the weather, so you suddenly become entitled to much less when the delay or cancelation is due to weather.

Do airlines take advantage of this? Certainly. They try to plan all those other problems to occur during predictable weather patterns. I worked for a while at SFO. This is one of the 10 most difficult runways in the world. Pilots are required to obtain extra certification to be allowed to take off and land there. When we came in on a foggy or rainy day, we knew that the flights with less people on them were in danger of cancelation and started to try and figure out alternatives we might be able to use for them.

Front line workers know when the FAA workers clock in for work, so they will rush extra hard to get your flight out early. If that one guy decides to linger because he knows the last moment he can board a flight insists on dawdling, he can mess with the travel plans of hundreds of people. Yes, he technically boarded on time, but the FAA clocked in for work, saw the fog, and delayed your flight until a safer time. We tried, Miranda!

Notice a theme here? Front line workers are working to anticipate problems cause by the people deciding the fates of flight sales and cancelations. Front line workers are rushing to get your flight out before the FAA declares it unsafe. Front line workers are trying to rush dawdling passengers. Please do not give your front line worker a high fashion designer yell about your weather delay. They do not make the decisions to cancel or delay your flight. Believe me, they have tried to relay your concerns. Upper management is much less likely to listen to a front line worker than absolutely anyone else.

Yeah, yeah. I won't be a Prada wearing Devil. But, what about my mom?!?

Don't forget that different airlines purchase different routes. So, while both you and your mother are enjoying beautiful weather in your respective cities, your airline may have been assigned a route that has bad weather along the way. If your last delay was due to a staffing shortage, your airline may have been given the option to book you on another airline, but when the cancelation is due to weather, your front line worker no longer is allowed to offer that. But, if you are desperate to get to Mom, do check other airlines and purchase it yourself if you can!

Another thing to do is to learn to plan for flexibility in your travels. If your kids must be in school on Monday, consider ending your ski week on Thursday. Yes, you are sad you didn't squeeze out more time on the slopes, but if all goes well with the plane, you have time to unpack and decompress. Don't you always say you need a vacation after your vacation? However, if lovely powder prevents you from leaving on time, your delays and cancelations become celebratory. Look at you! Hero parent!

As always, kind people who leave encouraging notes, or maybe even gifts of stickers are a rare commodity. Look at all the faces around you in your rebooking line. It is not hard to differentiate yourself here! If you are kind, understanding and flexible, watch how those front line workers bend over backwards for you!

And, as always... Enjoy your adventure!

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