Travel right now: FAIR WARNING!

[DrRoy]

Last month we flew to Seattle on Delta. There was a 5 hr delay for maintenance that did not seem related to the other problems lately. The return was textbook and arrived early.

 

[Koolau]

Last month we flew to Seattle on Delta. There was a 5 hr delay for maintenance that did not seem related to the other problems lately. The return was textbook and arrived early.

I guess the cynical side of me would question whether a "maintenance" issue was actually a staffing shortage, etc. Probably not since calling a "maintenance issue" could be unsettling to the flying public. Still, I would wonder...

 

[USGrant1962]

I guess the cynical side of me would question whether a "maintenance" issue was actually a staffing shortage, etc. Probably not since calling a "maintenance issue" could be unsettling to the flying public. Still, I would wonder...

Virtually every delay I've ever had they told us the reason - incoming plane late, waiting for crew, maintenance, weather, etc. And usually when it is maintenance the Captain tells you what the problem was after you board. Why would they lie, what's the point?

 

[Koolau]

Virtually every delay I've ever had they told us the reason - incoming plane late, waiting for crew, maintenance, weather, etc. And usually when it is maintenance the Captain tells you what the problem was after you board. Why would they lie, what's the point?

It's probably unfair for me to speculate as I have no evidence. I'm just thinking that the airlines look pretty bad lately since they can't seem to staff their needs. Why would they lie? Maybe they think they'd look better dealing with a maintenance issue than a staffing issue - in light of headlines about staffing issues. As I said, I have no hidden info on this. Just a suspicious mind of someone who has been stranded in an airport with no idea of how to get home. YMMV

 

[gayl]

.... flight fiasco is calming down through increased pricing.

Spoke too soon. I'm on Virgin Atlantic #20 tomorrow. Saturday's flight took off late, Sunday's flight supposedly boarded but then canceled, hoping tomorrow goes w/o a hitch but back to mapping out a fallback plan

 

[explanade]

I flew on the 23rd. My SFO-MUC flight departed about 40 minutes late but arrived about 10 minutes early.

They said the plane had been caught up in some bad weather on the east coast before flying to SFO for this flight.

Then my MUC-VCE flight was delayed by about 30-45 minutes because they said they didn't have any "loaders" which I presume meant machines for loading checked luggage, not necessarily baggage handlers.

So arrived about 30-40 minutes later than scheduled and my checked bag did arrive.

A bigger ordeal was getting my luggage over a couple of bridges with steps to the hotel.

 

[tulak]

Spoke too soon. I'm on Virgin Atlantic #20 tomorrow. Saturday's flight took off late, Sunday's flight supposedly boarded but then canceled, hoping tomorrow goes w/o a hitch but back to mapping out a fallback plan

Fingers crossed that your flight tomorrow departs without issues.

I made it back through Amsterdam/Schiphol with no delays and nothing exciting to report. Flight back wasn’t full and I scored an empty seat next to me, which was a nice.

I’m likely done with flying this year. Time to start thinking about 2023.

 

[jj]

My Virgin Atlantic flight for later today was canceled overnight - I found out about it this morning! They have re-booked me with British Airways for tomorrow (23 hours later) and I have my fingers firmly crossed!

I was scrambling to notify the car rental company, and finally got through to someone who said they would change the booking for me but, unfortunately couldn't refund me for the lost day. That's $50 or so lost, but hopefully nothing else. I could technically claim this from Virgin, but it's not worth the hassle.

And I thought I was doing so well

 

[gayl]

My Virgin Atlantic flight for later today was canceled overnight - I found out about it this morning! They have re-booked me with British Airways for tomorrow (23 hours later) and I have my fingers firmly crossed!



I was scrambling to notify the car rental company, and finally got through to someone who said they would change the booking for me but, unfortunately couldn't refund me for the lost day. That's $50 or so lost, but hopefully nothing else. I could technically claim this from Virgin, but it's not worth the hassle.



And I thought I was doing so well

From where to where??

 

[skyking1]

Reporting on conditions at Manchester UK. It was understaffed today and they had to prioritize us through the check in process based on departures. They had less than half the staff needed.
Heathrow was also suffering for staffing, but not so acutely as Manchester.

 

[SecondAttempt]

Virtually every delay I've ever had they told us the reason - incoming plane late, waiting for crew, maintenance, weather, etc. And usually when it is maintenance the Captain tells you what the problem was after you board. Why would they lie, what's the point?

They would lie because they do not have to pay for safety related issues! I told my lav door not locking story and how even the pilots suggested it was idiotic. But by assigning the problem to safety the airline has no liability. It's really pathetic.

 

[SecondAttempt]

A bigger ordeal was getting my luggage over a couple of bridges with steps to the hotel.

10 EUR to a porter did it for us!

 

[USGrant1962]

They would lie because they do not have to pay for safety related issues! I told my lav door not locking story and how even the pilots suggested it was idiotic. But by assigning the problem to safety the airline has no liability. It's really pathetic.

Compensation for delays is up to the individual airline's policies, nothing to do with "liability". There is no US law regarding compensation for delays. It would be nice if an EU-like delay compensation law was enacted, but of course that cost we would show up in the ticket prices so YMMV.

From DOT:

My flight is delayed - am I entitled to money or other compensation from the airline?

No. There are no federal laws requiring airlines to provide passengers with money or other compensation when their flights are delayed. Each airline has its own policies about what it will do for delayed passengers. If your flight is experiencing a long delay, ask airline staff if they will pay for meals or a hotel room. While some airlines offer these amenities to passengers, others do not provide any amenities to stranded passengers.

The full story here:
https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/flight-delays-cancellations

 

[athena53]

I hope I'm not jinxing myself, but...

Left for eastern Europe 8/8. Scheduled an overnight near Heathrow to be safe and also arrived a day early for the tour starting in Tirana, Albania to be safe. Everything pretty much ran on time. Entire tour was ground transportation (Tirana, Dubrovnik, Sarajevo, Zagreb, Ljublana with a few other stops in between) so nothing more bothersome than a few slow border crossings and a crawl through one picturesque seaside town that made me wonder if we were on our way to the Jersey shore. I did carry-on only- a real pain over 3 weeks and it meant not buying wine, honey, preserves, all kinds of yummy things that are local delicacies, but at least I know where my bag is.

Two of the 11 members of our group tested positive for COVID last week in Zagreb. They stayed there with support from the tour company's local team; one was to join our group tonight for the farewell dinner (I left a day early) and the other is going home from Zagreb. Both are pretty much back to normal. None of us was required to test for COVID and as far as I know, no one did. The ones left in Zagreb stayed in the same hotel and were not well-monitored; they went out walking a lot and may even have had a meal or two in outdoor settings. Low-risk, I know, but it's surprising how much things have changed in a year.

One group member got a notice from UA that her flight from Ljubljana to Zurich was cancelled- a married couple in our group on the same flight got no notice at all. Our tour leader made a few hundred phone calls to get them re-booked.

I have two nights in London and then head home. So, things COULD go wrong but at this point I'll deal with it. Inbound left London an hour late and they're posting my flight 20 minutes late. Manageable.

So- Stuff Happens but its not necessarily a reason to stay home. I would not have missed this trip for anything.

 

[foxcreek9]

This makes me wonder if I should ever travel again, what a nightmare

https://nypost.com/2022/08/30/american-airlines-passengers-stranded-in-bermuda-for-20-hours/

 

[audreyh1]

Whatever, in that case I’d just be happy that I made it safely to the ground!

 

[tulak]

No doubt. This brings back a memory of a former coworker that was flying back to the US and their flight was diverted to Greenland because there was a threat against the flight. Nothing was found and they arrived 24 hours later.

On the plus side, they got a free tour of Greenland. Much better experience than the travelers in Bermuda.

 

[gayl]

Turned out to be not an issue. I was lucky. Plane took off on time, got through egates in under 5 minutes. My only delay was waiting for the bus

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

This makes me wonder if I should ever travel again, what a nightmare

https://nypost.com/2022/08/30/american-airlines-passengers-stranded-in-bermuda-for-20-hours/

It would be a nightmare...for ONE flight out of around 115,000 (commercial flights per day worldwide).

I think this report is a pretty good read to see how many flights are actually delayed/cancelled/etc. I would also note that in June of 2022, there were 60 tarmac delays of 3 hours or more...out of 583,584 (completed) flights. So...all things considered, I don't think it's as terrible as the media would like us to think it is.

https://www.transportation.gov/indi...ection/august-2022-air-travel-consumer-report

In June 2022, the 10 marketing network carriers reported 602,057 scheduled domestic flights, 18,473 (3.1%) of which were canceled. In June 2021, the same airlines reported 573,779 scheduled domestic flights, 9,196 (1.6%) of which were canceled. In May 2022, airlines scheduled 602,950 domestic flights, of which 11,993 (2.0%) were canceled. In June 2019, airlines scheduled 694,469 domestic flights, of which 14,667 (2.1%) were canceled.

June 2022 On-Time Arrival

In June 2022, reporting marketing carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 73.5% down from 77.2% in May 2022 and up from 73.3% in pre-pandemic June 2019. The year-to-date on-time arrival rate for 2022 is 75.9%.

Highest Marketing Carrier On-Time Arrival Rates June 2022 (ATCR Table 1)

Alaska Airlines Network – 78.7%
Delta Air Lines Network – 78.4%
Hawaiian Airlines – 77.2%

 Lowest Marketing Carrier On-Time Arrival Rates June 2022 (ATCR Table 1)

Allegiant Air – 59.0%
JetBlue Airways – 61.3%
Frontier Airlines – 69.5%

For the first six months of 2022, the reporting marketing carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 75.94%, down from 77.41% for the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.

June 2022 Flight Cancellations

In June 2022, reporting marketing carriers canceled 3.1% of their scheduled domestic flights, higher than the rate 1.6% in June 2021 and higher than the rate of 2.1% in pre-pandemic June 2019.

Lowest Marketing Carrier Rates of Canceled Flights June 2022 (ATCR Table 6)

Hawaiian Airlines – 0.1%  
Alaska Airlines Network – 0.7%   
Frontier Airlines – 1.1%    

Highest Marketing Carrier Rates of Canceled Flights June 2022 (ATCR Table 6)

American Airlines Network – 4.4%    
Delta Air Lines Network – 3.9%    
United Airlines Network – 3.5%    

For the first six months of 2022, the reporting marketing carriers posted a cancellation rate of 3.2%, up from 2.4% for the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.

 

[Koolau]

This makes me wonder if I should ever travel again, what a nightmare

https://nypost.com/2022/08/30/american-airlines-passengers-stranded-in-bermuda-for-20-hours/

The travel options from the Islands is very limited so I have to fly. But once safely in my mainland cocoon, I drive or I don't go. Lots of issues with driving, of course (high gas prices, finding decent places to stay, traffic, road construction, etc.) But at least there is a "feeling" of control that is missing with air travel. I guess rental cars are becoming more available/less expensive but still a crap shoot, so driving takes care of that issue as well.

On a "good" day (flights on time/not cancelled/etc.) I can drive 400 miles door to door faster than flying - sometimes MUCH faster. Add in the uncertainty of whether my plane will even fly (after I've driven 80 miles to the airport) and the choice gets even simpler. YMMV

 

[Freedom56]

We flew to GVA from LAX with Air Canada Signature Class with a stop-over at YUL on the 25th of August. This was our first time taking this route. The flight out of LAX left on time and we arrived 20 minutes early. The flight out of YUL left one hour late. Then we had an in-flight medical emergency about 90 minutes before landing in GVA. A young woman seated two pod seats in front of me started having seizures. The flight attendants asked for assistance from medical personnel on board. Two doctors came forward and were attempting to stabilize her until we landed. My wife, a nurse, slept through the emergency. The doctors were communicating with medical personnel in Geneva while they attended to the woman. After we landed and taxied to the gate, it took about 40 minutes for the paramedics to enter the aircraft. This long would never happen in a major city airport in the US. The paramedics worked on her for about another 30 minutes before carrying her out of the aircraft. I hope she is okay now. Our luggage came out pretty quickly after we reached the carrousel. Airports are extremely busy now. The service on Air Canada was excellent an one of the better business class options available now. We also had lie flat seating for both legs of the flight on their new A330-300 aircraft for both legs.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I am hoping that travel to Europe in 2024 will be better which is when I plan on going next.

 

[explanade]

We flew to GVA from LAX with Air Canada Signature Class with a stop-over at YUL on the 25th of August. This was our first time taking this route. The flight out of LAX left on time and we arrived 20 minutes early. The flight out of YUL left one hour late. Then we had an in-flight medical emergency about 90 minutes before landing in GVA. A young woman seated two pod seats in front of me started having seizures. The flight attendants asked for assistance from medical personnel on board. Two doctors came forward and were attempting to stabilize her until we landed. My wife, a nurse, slept through the emergency. The doctors were communicating with medical personnel in Geneva while they attended to the woman. After we landed and taxied to the gate, it took about 40 minutes for the paramedics to enter the aircraft. This long would never happen in a major city airport in the US. The paramedics worked on her for about another 30 minutes before carrying her out of the aircraft. I hope she is okay now. Our luggage came out pretty quickly after we reached the carrousel. Airports are extremely busy now. The service on Air Canada was excellent an one of the better business class options available now. We also had lie flat seating for both legs of the flight on their new A330-300 aircraft for both legs.

Most of the AC flights to Europe out of SFO connect through Toronto or Montreal.

A few through YVR.

I haven't booked one yet because the flight to Toronto or Montreal is on a 738 Max, without lie flat seats.

I have an award ticket in November, SFO-YVR-BNE round trip. I've gotten like half a dozen emails about slight changes to the schedule of those flights.

In early July I think I got a letter from AC CEO apologizing that they are still trying to ramp back up and they will have to cancel a lot of flights in July and August.

I had opened an Aeroplan account some years back, to get an idea of what kind of awards on Star Alliance were available, to see if they had availability not visible to United Mileage Plus members.

I booked the round-trip business class ticket early this year using United miles. Actually I transferred over a lot of UR points because I didn't have enough UA miles at the time.

I checked on Aeroplan and they were asking like at least 50% more miles. Forget what it was but something I would never redeem.

I think I flew AC TPAC to Hong Kong once, don't remember much about the service but I liked it because it arrived much earlier in the day than other flights from the US West Coast, which tended to arrive like at 11 PM at night.

We will see how AC is doing. UA has cut service way back in Polaris, using the pandemic as an excuse. The meal options are disappointing compared to what they used to offer.

 

[jollystomper]

It would be a nightmare...for ONE flight out of around 115,000 (commercial flights per day worldwide).

I think this report is a pretty good read to see how many flights are actually delayed/cancelled/etc. I would also note that in June of 2022, there were 60 tarmac delays of 3 hours or more...out of 583,584 (completed) flights. So...all things considered, I don't think it's as terrible as the media would like us to think it is.

https://www.transportation.gov/indi...ection/august-2022-air-travel-consumer-report

In June 2022, the 10 marketing network carriers reported 602,057 scheduled domestic flights, 18,473 (3.1%) of which were canceled. In June 2021, the same airlines reported 573,779 scheduled domestic flights, 9,196 (1.6%) of which were canceled.

The headline for this particular statistic: "Flight Cancellations have DOUBLED In a Year!"

 

[Freedom56]

Most of the AC flights to Europe out of SFO connect through Toronto or Montreal.

A few through YVR.

I haven't booked one yet because the flight to Toronto or Montreal is on a 738 Max, without lie flat seats.

I have an award ticket in November, SFO-YVR-BNE round trip. I've gotten like half a dozen emails about slight changes to the schedule of those flights.

In early July I think I got a letter from AC CEO apologizing that they are still trying to ramp back up and they will have to cancel a lot of flights in July and August.

I had opened an Aeroplan account some years back, to get an idea of what kind of awards on Star Alliance were available, to see if they had availability not visible to United Mileage Plus members.

I booked the round-trip business class ticket early this year using United miles. Actually I transferred over a lot of UR points because I didn't have enough UA miles at the time.

I checked on Aeroplan and they were asking like at least 50% more miles. Forget what it was but something I would never redeem.

I think I flew AC TPAC to Hong Kong once, don't remember much about the service but I liked it because it arrived much earlier in the day than other flights from the US West Coast, which tended to arrive like at 11 PM at night.

We will see how AC is doing. UA has cut service way back in Polaris, using the pandemic as an excuse. The meal options are disappointing compared to what they used to offer.

Flight AC774 Departs every day from LAX at 7:00 A.M. to YUL on a A-330-300 with 32 lie flat seats.

https://www.flightstats.com/v2/flight-tracker/AC/774

There is a corresponding flight from YUL to LAX on the same aircraft type.

There is also a flight to YYZ from LAX on a 787 Dreamliner with lie-flat seats. I have taken that flight also.

Compared to Air France business class on the 777 from LAX to CDG that we took last November/December, the Air Canada flight was much better. The food and service were outstanding. The plane was much nicer and so were the seats. Plus the international lounge in Montreal is pretty nice and so is the international terminal. The price was the best at the time we booked at $2952 return for each ticket.