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MY WIFE KEEPS COMING up with ideas for where we should travel next. She says, “How about New Orleans, Savannah or Charleston?” My wife can’t get enough of traveling. I’d rather hang around the house for a while.
This year, we experienced long flight delays on our last two trips back from Europe, so right now I’m not anxious to get on another plane. The most recent headache was our flight home from Ireland.
The plane was delayed four hours leaving Dublin. Our late arrival into Chicago caused us to miss our 4:30 p.m. connecting flight. When our alternate flight was canceled at 10:30 p.m., we were forced to spend the night at O’Hare International Airport. We called a number of hotels, but we weren’t able to get a room for the night.
As we walked around the airport to look for a place to sleep, I saw an older man sleeping on a bench. His wife was sitting on her knees watching over him. I felt sorry for them, and then realized that my wife and I were in the same situation.
My wife said, “I feel homeless.” I told her, “We are tonight.”
Rachel tried sleeping on the floor, while I sat next to her, keeping an eye on our personal belongings. In the end, it turned out to be 36 hours from the time we left our Dublin hotel until we finally made it home to California. I consider us fortunate that it wasn’t longer.
Here are four suggestions that can help reduce the stress and turmoil of flying:
1. Use the airline’s app when help is needed. When our flight was canceled, we were told to go to the United Airlines customer service desk for assistance. Since there were so many flights canceled because of bad weather and personnel shortages, there were hundreds of people in line. It could have taken at least three hours to reach the front of the line.
Instead, my wife tried calling United, and I tried messaging the airline using the app. After about 45 minutes, I was able to contact a customer service representative who told us there were no available flights tomorrow. They were all fully booked. We would have to wait until the following day, Thursday, to get a flight home.
I’ve found that using an airline’s app is often the fastest way to get assistance. The app also makes it easier to check in for your flight, get your boarding passes and book flights. That night in Chicago, it saved us from waiting in line for hours.
2. If your flight is canceled, try flying standby. We couldn’t sleep, so we decided to look for a place where we could get some coffee and a bite to eat. It was 5 a.m. and McDonald’s was the only restaurant open at the airport. While waiting in line, Rachel said, “Why don’t we see if there are any flights to Orange County this morning? If so, we can get our names added to the standby list.”
My wife is the glass-half-full person in our relationship. I’m more of a glass-half-empty guy. I said, “After seeing all those flights canceled last night, that standby list is probably a mile long. Not to mention, all the flights are fully booked.” She said, “What do we have to lose?”
We found two flights scheduled for Orange County. One left at 7:15 a.m. We got to the gate early to get our names added to the standby list. There were other names already on the list. But since we were paying customers, we were ahead of any non-revenue-generating customers, such as United employees.
As the passengers boarded the plane, we looked around our gate to get some idea for how many folks were on the standby list. Not counting us, maybe seven people. But we still didn’t know if there were any empty seats. Then the employees at the counter started calling out two passengers’ names, warning them that the gate was closing and it was their last chance to board.
I told my wife it feels like we’re on a game show vying for a prize. A few minutes later, they called our names. I couldn’t believe we were at the top of the standby list, and we each got a seat. We were finally going home.
But it was too good to be true. As we waited for our boarding passes to be printed, I saw a man heading toward our gate. Now, there was only one seat available. They offered it to us. But we wanted to stay together, and try the flight scheduled for 8:40 a.m.
The next flight didn’t look promising. United announced the plane was at capacity and some of the passengers’ carry-on bags would have to be checked in. On top of that, we weren’t the only names on the standby list. I noticed four familiar faces who had also, like us, tried to get on the 7:15 a.m. flight.
But to our surprise, there were eight no-shows for the 8:40 a.m. flight. We were among the eight lucky ones on the standby list who got seats. We were indeed finally going home.
3. Travel light. When traveling, especially overseas, we usually only have a single bag each, which we carry on rather than checking in. It’s much easier to take a train or bus if you only have one bag. Also, you don’t have to spend extra time checking in your bags or picking them up from the luggage carousel. You can walk off the plane and be on your way.
When we were stuck in Chicago, it was comforting to know we didn’t have to fret about our luggage getting lost or damaged. We had all our stuff with us all the time.
4. Avoid boarding the plane late. To make sure our carry-on bags are with us at all times, we pay extra to board early to ensure there’s room in the plane’s overhead compartment. When you travel economy, like we do, you’re among the last ones to board. There’s always the risk your bag might have to be checked in.
A few weeks after we returned home, we received an email from United Airlines notifying us that we would each be receiving 30,000 frequent-flier miles, plus a $100 coupon for our troubles. It was a nice gesture. But I’d still rather have slept in my bed than spent the night at an airport.
Dennis Friedman retired from Boeing Satellite Systems after a 30-year career in manufacturing. Born in Ohio, Dennis is a California transplant with a bachelor’s degree in history and an MBA. A self-described “humble investor,” he likes reading historical novels and about personal finance. Check out his earlier articles and follow him on Twitter @DMFrie.
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We never plan to return to the US from International flights and connect in Chicago. Even if the weather is ok, the delay with clearing customs, getting on the train to arrive at domestic terminals and have to go through security as if we were walking in off the parking lot is a delay that’s hard to predict (Miami also). Atlanta is much better, but they have many fewer international connections. As retirees, we’ve developed a few rules: Don’t connect. Book a room at the airport beforehand and fly on the next day. We have time.Don’t arrive in Chicago or Miami or Kennedy if you can help it. Don’t fly coach! What are you saving your money for? Enjoy life. We always flew coach before retirement; now flying comfort trumps cost. Otherwise, we just stay home.
Question for experienced travelers: if one is not a frequent flyer and lacks any loyalty clout on air carriers, can using a travel agent offer a major advantage if cancellations or other snafus occur?
Can they save you time in line or get you higher consideration/priority by an airline?
Was it obvious in Dublin that you would miss your connection at O’Hare? Might have had a chance at that point of rebooking your flight to the West Coast, avoiding the miserable night sleeping in the airport.
I had one easy long distance trip this summer and one nightmare trip both outbound and homeward. The biggest difference between these two travel experiences? On the happier trip, I had decided to drive 80 miles to a much bigger airport in order to catch a nonstop to London. My bad trip to Florida involved my local airport and missed connections halfway across the country (on both legs, and on two different airlines).
Even if a person avoids tight connections or picks optimal travel times in initial booking of a flight, airlines can switch times and equipment at any point, for many good reasons and some more questionable. This can be weeks in advance or very last minute, including while you are sitting and waiting for your plane in the boarding area.
I don’t know what the solutions to this might be. It’s extremely frustrating.
No, it wasn’t obvious we would miss our connecting flight. Before we left Dublin, United put us on a later connecting flight. But that one was also canceled late in the evening, at 10:30 pm. We try to avoid connecting flights, but we like flying out of Orange County. It’s a small airport that’s close to our home and easy to navigate. Unfortunately, they don’t have any long-distance nonstop flights to Europe.
We leave closest to Sacramento, which is a very nice, easily manageable airport (I agree with you about SNA, too). But when we go to Europe or other international destinations, we fly out of San Francisco to avoid connecting flights. I’ve found parking and overnight hotel options there that work for us. We don’t love schlepping to SFO, but it’s only once or twice a year. I get why you don’t want to mess with LAX, but in light of your recent experience, you might want to rethink that.
Good tips, thanks. Another option for Europe, especially for retirees with the time, is a trans-Atlantic cruise to reduce airline hassle. We are not big cruisers (one every 2-3 years) but we have done TA to Europe 3 times. The first time I thought I might get bored; not a problem as they have many special activities. On one I took a bridge class. Repositioning rates are good (though seem to be rising past several years) and most cruise lines have special airfare rates for the return from Europe (RC/Celebrity let you check airfares before booking cruise). As an example, a few years ago we flew business class from Stockholm to Louisville for $800 each. For TA we always get a balcony. A good place to check cruise schedules and fares is https://www.vacationstogo.com/
I’m usually anxious when I fly about check-in time, etc. and have found Global Entry to be a great service. Upon return to the U. S. you can bypass the long customs lines (1:45 at ATL one time), go straight to a kiosk, check-in, and you are done. But the real advantage is TSA Pre-Check which is part of Global Entry. My wife and I both have it and we flew out of Boston recently (July 5th), and we avoided the massive security lines for the much quicker and easier pre-check line. We have our “trusted traveler” number listed in our airline profiles so when we book our flight, TSA Pre-Check is automatically on the ticket. Even better, certain airline credit cards and other cards will give you a credit for $100 towards Global Entry as one of the card perks. If you fly, even a few times a year, it’s worth it to me. Pre-Check is also free for active duty military members. Go Navy!
CLEAR is great, too, especially combined with TSA Precheck. We’ve taken a couple of flights on Southwest in recent weeks out of Sacramento where we really happy to get to jump the line with CLEAR (while other people glared at us, but oh, well).
Your article hit close to home. My wife and I recently spent an overnight in Terminal F in Atlanta, due to weather beyond anyone’s contol. All the kiosks were closed; we were grateful to have a stash of peanuts with us for sustenance! Luckily, we were automatically booked on the first morning flight due to my “status”. The flip side is that (for some unknown reason) I am the one in the doghouse for the travel snafu! Guess I will have to take my wife on another trip (perhaps be car…) to make it up to her.
If one wants to minimize the possibilities of airline travel hassles, which are seemingly ever increasing, there are ways to try to do it-Time you fly (early), number of connections, length of connection, connecting airport, how much you pack, frequent flyer and airline lounge status etc.. But having traveled 30+ years, the most important things are research/preparation, flexibility and the emotional and logistical preparation for things to go wrong. The system is so fragile these days that when it goes perfectly, it is seems unusual. You can pleasantly surprised if you lower your expectations when things go right and be prepared if not.
Readers might also want to check out these two piece from retired pilot Tom Kubik:
https://humbledollar.com/2021/12/the-unfriendly-skies/
https://humbledollar.com/2022/01/why-am-i-late/
Additional advice if you are going to be stuck in an airport is available at https://www.sleepinginairports.net/
According to the Chicago page you could have used the United Club lounge since you had United tickets. Here’s their info on sleeping in the airport.
These days I try to avoid connecting flights. I live in NC and if I’m flying to Europe I’ll spend a few nights in DC or New York or Boston, and if I need a connection in Europe as well I’ll stop off in London. I pick London so I can visit family but other cities would work as well. You can then go on by train instead of plane. If I’m flying to Asia Vancouver is a good stop-over although I do need a connection to get there.
We tried but the United Club lounge was closed. It’s not open 24 hours a day. I believe it closes at 10:00 pm or 10:30 pm. I don’t remember the exact time.
I was going to mention the United Club, too—not for sleeping, but as an alternative for rebooking flights when something goes wrong. Beats standing in line at the gate, and you get more personalized service than on the app or on the phone.
United did not give us the option to rebook a flight at the United Club. They told everyone to go to their customer service location. The United Club was closed. We did use their app, instead of standing in line.
Thanks for the resource, sleepinginairports. Never know when something like this is needed.
You’re welcome. It can be useful even if you’re not stuck overnight. Reading the description of Tashkent airport in 2016 convinced me to arrive in daylight, although most flights arrived in the evening or overnight.
i got covid within a few days of a recent trip (within the last month). most likely that my exposure was in the airplane cabin as someone in my row had a coughing illness. so still consider taking/using a mask during those higher risk exposure times when in close quarters for an extended period of time with limited ventilation.
I am willing to pay you a handsome fee if you tell me how your wife travels to Europe or anywhere with one carry-on bag. We have never travelled anywhere without two check bags at the maximum weight plus two carry-ons.
Write a book Dennis. There is a fortune to be had in the secret.
Agree with reply to see the Rick Steves website. Wife & I have traveled 30+ days in Europe many times with each having a roller-board and small bag/knapsack. Remember, if you need something you can usually buy where you are travelling and we’ve found that can often be a fun adventure in itself.
Dick, we never had a problem finding a place to wash our clothes. Also, there are stores if you really need something.
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/packing-light/packing-smart
I, female, traveled for months at a time with one 22inch two wheeler and a day pack. My (dated) three part packing list (links at the top of the page) starts here. I did check the 22 inch for flights but I didn’t need to on US planes. The more luggage the harder the trip: there is no way I would consider maximum weight bags unless I was spending the whole trip in one place or traveling by car. And personally I wouldn’t need that much luggage in any case.
Or here is packing advice from the Rick Steves’ site.
JET BLUE MOSAIC and love their customer service, dedicated phone line, and TELEVISION. UA stinks to the ground
You missed the most important option! Ensure that you are a member of their frequent flyer program and try to consolidate travel so you gain status. Airlines and hotels try to take care of their most frequent (ie more profitable) customers. Those with no free membership into their program are the last to be considered for anything. As your status rises, you rise higher in standby lists, upgrades, etc, they give free accommodations even when they do not have to, etc. You also have direct phone numbers to get added to standby lists, get moved to other flights instead of standing in line with the masses waiting to talk to that one agent.
The fault in all this is airlines miss the point that a one time customer might turn into a long term customer as they look at individual program usage on an annual basis. Joining the program is free and one can opt out of the barrage of emails, but that single act can be the determining factor as to your position on an upgrade list and whether one gets home tonight or tomorrow.
So true. One of the few things I miss about working is having Premier 1K status.
You’re right about being a frequent flier passenger does provide additional benefits. Yes, everyone should enroll in those programs. We’re frequent flier passengers with UA. We just reached a status that gives us priority boarding, complimentary upgrades, and a few other benefits, but we’re not at a level where we get those benefits you mentioned in your comments. I tried to provide a few suggestions for folks who also don’t have those benefits.
I wouldn’t fly UA today if they paid me.
I feel the same about Delta and American. United treats me very well where American is a flying train wreck.
All my frequent flyer miles are with AA, but I keep them for other OneWorld carriers. Qantas, Cathay Pacific, Finnair… (But not JAL!)