Stressful air travel has been a hallmark of the pandemic. Insufficient staffing and poor weather have prompted recurring delays and cancellations at airports throughout the country.
Those who have already experienced pandemic travel are likely wary of prospects for smooth flying this holiday season. However, Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp, a company that fights for passenger rights, might be able to ease these concerns with some useful tips.
To help improve the odds of flying on schedule, aim to book the first flight of the day.
According to him, later flights can get caught in a cascade of flight disruptions, increasing the chance of disruption.
Further, flying out of secondary airports can avoid the heavy traffic that moves through major transit points. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, for example, saw more than 62.5 million passengers move through its terminals last year, making it the second busiest airport in the country when measured by passenger volume.
Pawliszyn recommends fully understanding your rights in the event your flight is canceled or overbooked. Rights vary not only between airlines but between airport locations. Under European law, for example, travelers can be reimbursed up to $700 per passenger for delays exceeding three hours, cancellations, or denial of seating as the result of overbooking.
It is also important to remember that “if you accept a voucher from an airline, you forfeit your right to compensation,” stressed Pawliszyn. Not only that, compared to Europe, airlines in the United States are less generous. Cancellations for flights departing from U.S. soil on an American airline may net a passenger reimbursement, but likely not any additional compensation beyond the original ticket price.
What passengers bring on their travels can have an outsized impact as well. For the smoothest experience, traveling exclusively with carry-on luggage is recommended. For many people, however, that is not an option.
To help with the checked luggage experience, passengers should maintain copies of their luggage receipts and take pictures of their baggage before departing. If needed, the pictures can later be shared with the staff responsible for locating any lost bags, making it easier to identify specific pieces.
Passengers without checked luggage at their final destination have two laws on their side, Pawliszyn advised. One is domestic, providing maximum compensation of $3,800. The other is the international Montreal convention, which provides up to $1,780 to affected flyers.
While travelers can take specific measures to reduce the likelihood of a stressful flight, nothing is guaranteed. Ultimately, if an unexpected and rare snowstorm strikes the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport this holiday season, there is not much that can be done besides wait.
