A delayed or canceled flight can feel like the end of the world. Not only are your plans thrown into disarray, but the airline’s customer service can often be a catastrophe in and of itself.
Passengers are often left to contend with a confusing mess of customer service channels and few good options. Nevertheless, how you handle your delayed or canceled flight can be the difference between a mere inconvenience and an excruciating ordeal.
The good news is that if you booked your flight using a credit card -- as most people do -- you can be back on your way faster and you’ll potentially even be recompensed for your troubles.
How your credit card can help if your flight is canceled or delayed
If your flight has been canceled or will have a very long delay, time is of the essence. Here are the steps you should take immediately:
1. Use your credit card’s concierge service to find a new flight
If your credit card includes concierge service, you can use this perk to help you save time and money if your flight is seriously delayed or canceled. The concierge service can connect you with a professional planner to help you find and book a new flight.
Before contacting the service, double check with your airline’s website or mobile app. The airline might also give you options to be rebooked on future flights, or it may have already assigned you a new flight.
Also, remember that some airlines have interline agreements allowing you to book on another carrier. These airlines include:
- Alaska
- American Airlines
- Delta
- Hawaiian Airlines
- United
2. Avoid the crowds with airport lounge access and TSA PreCheck
If your flight is delayed or canceled, you can start by approaching a representative in the gate area. However, you can often expect long lines as overworked staff try to deal with complicated travel problems.
If your credit card’s benefits include airport lounge access or an application fee credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, you can take advantage of these perks if you need assistance when a flight is delayed or canceled.
If you’re flying American, Delta or United, and you have airport lounge access, speaking to a representative there will be your best option. While you’re in line, you can also try to contact the airline by phone, through an online chat or both.
You can avoid the crowds at the terminal by visiting the ticketing counter outside of security. If you have the TSA PreCheck service, you can get back through security quicker and return to the gate area.
3. Get a travel credit or other compensation
You can get a full refund for canceled flights, whatever the reason, if you don’t want to rebook on another flight. If there’s a delay of over 3 hours, you can often get meal vouchers and overnight hotel accommodations, but it depends on the airline and the reason for the delay.
Most airlines will offer meals and a hotel room if there’s a so-called controllable delay, such as a mechanical problem or crew scheduling. To find out what your airline offers, visit the US Department of Transportation’s Airline Customer Service Dashboard.
If your delay is considered out of the airline’s control, such as weather or air traffic control issues, then it’s unlikely that the airline will offer you compensation.
But if you booked your flight with a credit card, it might offer a trip delay and trip cancellation policy that can reimburse you. Many of the best travel credit cards offer this perk.
These policies are common on travel rewards credit cards from American Express and Chase, but Discover and most Citi cards no longer offer travel insurance benefits. Check with your card issuer to see what kinds of travel insurance policies are available, and try to buy your tickets with one that has a trip delay benefit.
How to find out if your flight is delayed or canceled
The first rule of IRROPS -- airline lingo for Irregular Operations, or when scheduled travel is interrupted and cannot operate as usual -- is that the sooner you find out, the more options you’ll have.
After all, when a flight with 200 passengers is canceled, there will be another 199 people fighting for the remaining seats on alternate flights. That’s why you should always make sure to provide the airline with updated phone numbers to receive texts and email addresses when you make your reservations.
But you can sometimes find out about delays and cancellations before the airline notifies you. By using data from the FAA’s air traffic control system, apps like FlightAware and FlightRadar24 can let you know when the aircraft scheduled to operate your flight is delayed.
Just remember that it’s possible that your flight can still leave on time if another aircraft is substituted. This is much more likely to happen if you’re departing from a city with plenty of service from that airline.
The bottom line
Airline delays and cancellations are as old as the airlines themselves, and they’ll always be an unfortunate part of air travel. But by taking the best steps to quickly find a new flight, you can minimize the time -- and the headaches -- it will take you to reach your destination.
The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.
