Tag: Cancellations

Top 3 Worst U.S. Airports for Delays and Cancellations This Month

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We all know that sinking feeling. You hear your flight number in the dreaded delay announcement over the PA system – or worse, a cancellation. You’re going to miss your connection to sunny paradise.

It’s a stressful, time-sucking start to what was supposed to be a relaxing summer holiday.

As the summer travel season kicks off, travelers are getting nervous about the trademark peak crowds and cancellations at airports all over the world.

Since there’s nothing to be done about severe weather events or airline-issued cancellations, what can anyone do to ensure their trip runs as smoothly as possible?

Travelers can strategically avoid traveling through the worst U.S. airports for delays and cancellations in May.

Dallas Fort Worth (DFW)

Late last year, DFW was named the best large airport in North America by Airports Council International. But lately, it’s been causing serious travel headaches for passengers.

Earlier this spring, 28.5% of flights were significantly delayed or canceled, with many travelers experiencing missed connections and overnight stays for rebooked flights. This represents a significant increase from last year’s 22.8% disruption rate.

While flight cancellations have come down from 4.6% to 1.3% over the past three months, delays and missed connections remain a serious problem.

A significant portion of DFW delays can’t be predicted or resolved. Weather in this region is notoriously unpredictable, from unforeseen winter heat waves to sudden April hail storms.

May also sits in the middle of peak tornado time for the North Texas region, with 26 tornadoes so far this season. The 2023 tornado season is predicted to be especially active. Travelers can expect severe weather related disruptions out of Dallas this month and next.

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Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of air travel support service AirHelp, confirmed in a recent comment that DFW delays are a combination of severe weather and staffing problems.

While DFW airport has been catching up with hiring this year after almost two years of severe understaffing issues, DFW-based airlines are still behind the curve.

Since last year, both Southwest and American Airlines have been dealing with pilot shortages, union negotiations, and picketing at DFW.

Last week, pilots for the DFW-based American Airlines voted to authorize a strike, which could create walkout-related delays for DFW passengers in the coming weeks or months.

Pilot shortages have forced some route closures between Dallas and other US cities earlier this year. On top of it all, American recently slashed over 5,000 DFW flights from its summer schedule.

These cuts have put increased pressure on the remaining American routes, as well as other DFW airlines picking up American’s slack to meet passengers’ high demand for summer travel.

John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

Many travelers look to New York for affordable international flights to Europe and Asia. However, the cost is not worth the cancellation risk this summer.

Flight Aware ranks JFK among the airports with the highest cancellation rates in April, a trend that is likely to continue into May.

The FAA urges travelers to prepare for disruptions out of New York, predicting a 45% increase in cancellation rates from east coast airports like JFK this summer.

Staffing struggles are one of the only remaining holdovers from the pandemic in US airports. In New York, a shortage of air traffic controllers will continue to drive delays for flights taking off or landing in NYC, including those connecting to popular international destinations this summer.

New York’s air traffic controller shortage is exacerbated by both lacks of maintenance staff and persistent pilot scarcity.

San Francisco International (SFO)

Passengers can expect delays at SFO throughout May due to ongoing runway repairs.

A spokesperson for SFO commented last week: “This is expected to result in slightly longer taxi times for departing aircraft to reach the open runways,” Yakel said.

While delays related to runway repairs are only ranging from 15-60 minutes for now, regional weather conditions like heavy winds and fog continue to cause longer delays, cancellations, and even ground stops out of San Francisco International this season.

Nearly a quarter of flights out of SFO are experiencing significant delays, while 1% of SFO flights have been canceled. In the last week of April, there were 94 cancellations.

We can expect these disruption patterns to continue this month out of San Francisco, affecting regional travel to US, Canada, and Mexico, as well as international routes to Asia.

Travelers can avoid these top three U.S. airports for delays and cancellations this month. Instead, they can opt for direct flights out of low-disruption airports, and long delay-proof layovers in the best airports in the U.S. for stopovers.

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May 8, 2023
U.S. Airlines With The Most Delays And Cancellations This Month
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Air travel in the United States has been rough this summer. Overwhelming travel demand has strained a short-staffed aviation industry, leading to delays, cancellations, and lost luggage. Travelers have been eager to regain their freedom after years of pandemic-era regulations have decimated the travel industry. Unfortunately, airlines and airports were not prepared, and flights have suffered. The big question on everyone’s minds this summer has been, “will my travel plans be disrupted?“

This question is still noteworthy as we transition into the fall. To help answer it, we have determined the U.S. airlines with the most delays and cancellations this month. Using data from FlightAware, we ranked airlines’ performance from August 1^st through August 19^th. For this article, only mainline passenger airlines with a market cap of $1 Billion or greater were considered. These include; Southwest, American, Delta, United, JetBlue, Spirit, Alaska, Frontier, and Allegiant.

Overall Flights Stats

To understand where each airline’s performance lies, it’s important to look at the averages across all nine airlines.
- Total Scheduled Flights: 307,745
- Total Cancelled Flights: 6,150
- Percentage of Flights Cancelled: 2%
- Total Delayed Flights: 78,912
- Percentage of Flights Delayed: 26.2%
- Average Delay Time: 51 minutes
Top 5 U.S. Airlines With The Most Delays This Month
- JetBlue Airways – 34.9% of Flights Delayed (6,540 Total), 62 Minute Average Delay
- Southwest Airlines – 34.9% of Flights Delayed (26,788 Total), 42 Minute Average Delay
- Allegiant Air – 32.9% of Flights Delayed (2,252 Total), 51 Minute Average Delay
- Frontier Airlines – 28% of Flights Delayed (2,611 Total), 59 Minute Average Delay
- American Airlines – 24.9% of Flights Delayed (14,900 Total), 54 Minute Average Delay
JetBlue and Southwest had the same percentage of delays. Still, JetBlue’s average delay time was worse than Southwest’s, leading to its ranking as number one. If you are the passenger stuck with a delay, that extra 20 minutes will matter much more to you than the airline’s total delays.

Have Delays Improved?

Compared to July, delays have improved for most of the airlines listed. In July, the top 5 airlines were the same culprits as above, in a slightly different order. The only airlines that did not improve over July’s percentages were Southwest and Frontier. Southwest got worse by 2.9%, but Frontier’s percentage remained consistent at 28%.

While the improvement may give hope that we are moving beyond the travel chaos of summer, the more likely reason is that there have simply been fewer flights than there were in July. In July, there were 479,362 total flights across the nine carriers explored; 55.7% more than we have seen so far in August. However, we still have over a week left in August, so time will tell if the improvements hold.

As travel demand eases, the pressure on the short-staffed aviation industry will lessen. With fewer chances for error, airlines are likely to handle their operations better. Travelers should keep in mind, however, that the system is still struggling. Improvements should be taken with a grain of salt, and travelers should still take precautions going into the fall. Showing up to the airport extra early, avoiding a checked bag if possible, and knowing their passenger rights are all essential steps to ensure a smooth journey.

Top 5 U.S. Airlines With The Most Cancellations This Month
1. American Airlines – 3.5% of Flights Cancelled (2,157 Total)
2. Southwest Airlines – 2.5% of Flights Cancelled (1,978 Total)
3. United Airlines – 2.0% of Flights Cancelled (909 Total)
4. JetBlue Airways – 1.8% of Flights Cancelled (342 Total)
5. Allegiant Air – 0.9% of Flights Cancelled (65 Total)
American, Southwest, and JetBlue have worsened compared to July by about 1%, 1.1%, and .4%, respectively. United and Allegiant have both improved by .4% each.

Surprising Top Performers For Flights

The best-performing airlines for cancellations and delays may surprise you. Out of the nine carriers, Spirit Airlines was the best performing airline for delays, with an 18.1% flight delay rate (2,609 total). Their average delay time was 53 minutes, which is only two minutes more than the average of all the airlines combined. Alaska Airlines was the best-performing airline regarding cancellations, with a .4% flight cancellation rate (63 total).

The aviation industry has been hectic this year. It will likely continue running into operational issues in the coming months, as the core problem of short-staffing remains. As demand eases into the shoulder season, the chaos may temporarily subside. However, until airlines and the aviation industry overall can recover their staffing, travelers should expect disruptions.

This article originally appeared on Travel Off Path. For the latest breaking news that will affect your next trip, please visit: Traveloffpath.com

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Disclaimer: Current travel rules and restrictions can change without notice. The decision to travel is ultimately your responsibility. Contact your consulate and/or local authorities to confirm your nationality’s entry and/or any changes to travel requirements before traveling. Travel Off Path does not endorse traveling against government advisories
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August 22, 2022
Airbnb Cracks Down On Host Cancellations, What It Means For Travelers
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Beginning this August, Airbnb will be changing its host cancelation fee structure in to crack down on hosts who cancel reservations at the last minute. Airbnb has grown to be a wildly popular platform over the last decade, and it continues to offer affordable, unique, and diverse accommodations not found anywhere else. When it works, it works, but sometimes the unexpected can happen.

Bookings made months in advance that were considered a done deal have been canceled by the host, leaving travelers scrambling to find accommodation for their trips. Sometimes the reasoning is understandable enough, such as downed powerlines or unexpected damage to the property. However, sometimes the reason is outright unfair. Some hosts list the same property twice at different rates and cancel the booking for the person who reserved the lower rate.

Why Airbnb Is Making The Change

Until recently, the only penalty hosts faced when canceling a booking was a $50 to $100 fee, dependent on how close to the reservation the host canceled. This fee is excruciatingly low compared to how much hosts can make if they list a property more than once or find other ways to “resell” the reservation at a higher rate.

Consider the following:

A host has a single property they list on Airbnb for $100 per night. This is low enough they can nearly guarantee a booking. Now they list the same property again, either on Airbnb or another platform, for $250 per night. Why? Sometimes you catch a big fish where you least expect it. The property may not be worth $250 per night, but the host hopes to get lucky. Now, imagine you reserved the Airbnb months ahead of an upcoming trip. However, three days before you’re ready to leave, the higher-priced listing gets booked. What do you think the host will do? They will recoup the minuscule fee incurred in a single night, so of course they will cancel your reservation!

The New Standard

The problem was getting out of hand, with 41.1% of scams affecting Airbnb users falling into the “Multiple Listings Scam” category in 2021. Understandably, Airbnb has decided this needs to stop. When hosts cancel at the last minute, the travelers affected lose all confidence in the platform. They will very likely advise everyone they know to avoid using Airbnb. For this reason, Airbnb will be updating its host cancellation policy beginning on August 22^nd, 2022.

Beginning this August, the minimum cancelation fee will be $50, and the maximum fee will be $1000. The fee imposed will be dependent upon how close to the reservation the host cancels. Here is the breakdown:

If Cancelled:
- 30 days ahead of check-in: 10% of Reservation Cost
- Less than 30 days but more than 48 hours before check-in: 25% of Reservation Cost
- Less than 48 hours before check-in: 50% of Reservation Cost
What It Means For Travelers

Travelers will likely reap the benefits of this necessary change. Firstly, host cancellations are more likely to decrease overall. In the case of the multiple listing example above, a fee of $1000 would greatly diminish any additional profit the host would gain by double listing the property. Knowing this, the host is less likely to double-list the property in the first place.

Additionally, travelers are likely to receive more support from Airbnb when things still don’t pan out as intended. Before the change, Airbnb would try to help travelers find similar accommodations. The company would their original deposit to a new booking. However, no similar properties were often available at the same price point. This forced travelers to either stay in sub-par accommodations, stay further out from their originally intended area, or cancel their trip and receive a refund.

Time will tell whether the change effectively lowers the incidence of host cancellations, but the future looks promising. Airbnb is a unique alternative to traditional bookings such as hotels, and this new change is sure to inspire more confidence in the platform moving forward.

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Disclaimer: Current travel rules and restrictions can change without notice. The decision to travel is ultimately your responsibility. Contact your consulate and/or local authorities to confirm your nationality’s entry and/or any changes to travel requirements before traveling. Travel Off Path does not endorse traveling against government advisories
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July 30, 2022
Americans Flying To The UK Risk Long Delays At Border And Flight Cancellations

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Americans visiting the United Kingdom this summer could be faced with a number of adversities both before and/or soon upon landing, as both UK-based airlines and the country’s immigration services struggle with staff shortages which have led to major disruption.

Much like JetBlue and Alaska Airlines across the pond, British carriers have been suffering from Covid-related absences. Besides revised schedules and multiple cancellations, the fact that the UK Border Force is severely understaffed will only add to the woes of UK-bound travelers.

Dozens Of Flights Cancelled Ahead Of Easter

Again citing a temporary reduction in staff as a result of Covid isolation guidelines, multiple flights were axed at British airports this week, throwing the travel plans of many into turmoil. Flag bearer British Airways and low-cost carrier EasyJet were among the most affected.

On April 13, a total of 70 flights were canceled between the two, with customers flying via London Heathrow and London Gatwick, notoriously the UK’s two busiest hubs, taking the brunt of it. Seeing that both Heathrow and Gatwick are the main gateways into Britain, visitors are advised to make contingency plans.

One of the best ways American travelers can minimize disruption brought about by flight cancellations or positive Covid tests while abroad is by purchasing travel insurance in advance. On this post, you can find out all you need to know about travel insurance that covers Covid and how exactly you can benefit from it.

Unfortunately, it seems exercising a higher degree of caution will continue to be the norm, as Johan Lundgren, EasyJet’s chief executive, reveals the company has seen staff absence rates of 20% in ‘some cases’. This left the airline no option but to cancel a number of flights.

More worryingly, Lundgren stated processing delays in security checks for new crew were ‘also contributing to flight cancellations’, signalling other entities in the aviation sector may also be dealing with a huge backlog of work.

Staff Shortages Behind Wave Of UK Flight Cancellations

Lundgren’s concerns seem to corroborate Kully Sandhu’s statement to BBC Radio 4, the managing director of Aviation Recruitment Network Limited. According to Sandhu, ‘it is going to take at least the next 12 months for the industry vacancy-wise to settle down’.

To put it simply, despite its recent reopening, vacations in Great Britain may not be completely hassle-free for a while still, as a wave of cancellations sweeps across airports.

Despite the turbulent period, EasyJet has still flown 94% of its scheduled flights in the seven days leading up to April 12, or ‘four times higher than this time last year’.

On the other hand, Lucy Moreton, from the Immigration Services Union, warned that Border Force was “catastrophically under-staffed“, as high Covid rates translate into more absent officers, adding that it takes nearly a whole year to fully train new ones.

In an interview with the BBC, Moreton reiterated that the Border Force is failing to attract enough candidates to fill the vacancies, warning of a challenging summer ahead, as restrictions ease and people begin flying again.

While Americans visiting Britain usually enjoy smooth, fast-track entry, as U.S. citizens are eligible to use eGates when crossing the border, understaffing may still lead to longer waiting in lines.

Like Mexico did some weeks ago, in this case, due to record arrival figures, we expect the UK government to detail how the impacts of Covid on airports will be mitigated.

What Measures Has The UK Taken To Mitigate The Delays?

So far, cash incentives have been offered for those willing to work extra shifts in Heathrow, Britain’s number one airport. Staff from other airports, including in Scotland and Northern Ireland have also been flown to London to help fill in the gaps.

In light of the recent events, Heathrow has assured the public new recruits can start working between three to six months following training and security checks, and that 1,000 new security officers are expected to assume their roles by summer.

The UK Home Office, which oversees border activities, also reaffirmed their ‘number one priority is to maintain a secure border’. Accordingly, they will be deploying additional staff ‘to help minimize queuing times for passengers.

In the meantime, travelers are warned of ‘congestion in check-in areas at peak times’.

As Europe sets out on a reopening path, with some nations scrapping all existing Covid measures, more and more tourists are returning to its shores for their yearly breaks. A favorite among Americans, the UK is no exception, having removed all internal restrictions and welcoming all travelers again, without restrictive entry rules.

For more news on travel to Europe, please visit this link.

Read More:

Travel Insurance That Covers Covid-19 For 2022

What It’s Like Visiting The United Kingdom Right Now

WHO Claims Europe Is Lifting Restrictions Too ‘Brutally’ Amid New Variant Surge

British Airways And Virgin Atlantic Remove Masks On Most Flights

This Unknown Law Requires Airlines To Refund Americans On All Canceled Flights

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Disclaimer: Current travel rules and restrictions can change without notice. The decision to travel is ultimately your responsibility. Contact your consulate and/or local authorities to confirm your nationality’s entry and/or any changes to travel requirements before traveling. Travel Off Path does not endorse traveling against government advisories

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April 14, 2022