Don’t Get Stuck At The Airport!
I took my first flight at the age of four and, though I can’t remember it, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that there was a delay. Late flights and missed connections seem to be a normal part of travel these days, and they are no fun at all. I remember a student trip to Venezuela where, having arrived at the airport with only a few bolivares in our pockets, we were greeted with the news of a four hour flight delay (which turned out to be even longer). Trying to remain cheerful while splitting a couple of sandwiches among eight is not an experience I’d like to repeat in a hurry.
Delays seem to be a normal part of personal and business travel
Travelers In The Dark About Delays
More planes and bigger airports have resulted in more delays rather than fewer, with a recent New York Times article putting the number of stranded US passengers each year at 400,000, with 25 per cent of domestic flights delayed. To say that this is frustrating is an understatement. The information you need is out there, but it can take a while to get to you. As the New York Times puts it: ‘there is a convoluted flow of information that often leaves travelers in the dark.’
Getting Flight Delay Information
So what can you do? One option is to use the airlines’ own websites to set up mobile alerts to your cell phone or PDA. You can also set up such alerts through Orbitz, which enables you to keep track of any number of airlines. This means you will know if you’ve got enough time to grab a drink or a full meal before check-in. Other options for tracking airlines include:
- Flightarrivals.com - you can search for any airline by flight number, tracking arrivals, departures, schedule changes, delays and airport status
- ATCSCC - the FAA’s air traffic control system command center website, where you can look at delays by region and by airport. The real time information refers to the airports rather than specific flights and the FAA advises travelers to check airline information for specific delays.
- Flightstats.com - you can track flight status for all flights into a particular airport, as well as monitor statistics on delays for particular airports and airlines. I use this one myself and find it provides just the information I need.
Got any flight delay horror stories to share? I’d love to collect them in a follow up post.
Photo: Stuart Whitmore
Tags: airport, business travel, flight delays, flight information, travel
