Rebooking and refunding airline tickets: how to save your trip if your flight is canceled

In July, hundreds of thousands of travelers faced forced flight cancellations or delays due to a severe thunderstorm that swept across the east and west coasts of the United States. According to FlightAware, a flight tracking service, about 2,000 flights in the U.S. were canceled over the weekend alone. Such events, unfortunately, are not uncommon: the reasons for flight cancelations are most often unfavorable weather conditions and technical failures in the work of airlines and airports.

In such cases, the airline will offer you airline rebooking. This is the process of changing the travel plan, when a passenger is booked for another time or route. Of course, flight cancellation or its long delay overshadows any trip, whether it is a vacation or a business trip. But everyone should stay calm and adhere to some recommendations on what to do during flight cancelation and rebooking. Following them will help you save your trip and improve your situation in such unpleasant situations.

Flight canceled. What to do next?

Most airlines are required to rebook you free of charge on the next flight that has seats available if you still want to continue traveling. If the rebooking doesn't work for you and you don't want to go on, you are required to get a full refund of the airfare, including non-refundable tickets. This also applies to additional fees for seat upgrades, baggage fees and other charges. These airfare rebooking rules are listed on the U.S. Department of Transportation website and apply to U.S. companies. Air carriers in other countries often work with the same conditions. But it's still worth carefully reading the information about overbooking and flight cancellation compensation on your carrier's website.

Can I book a flight with another company?

It's worth looking at alternative flights with other carriers before talking to your airline's agent. If another operator has seats on flights that are more suitable for you, you can ask to be rebooked on that option. Airlines are not required to do this, but they can. In situations where an airline has changed flights, their agents are usually overloaded with requests from passengers, so it is perfectly appropriate to offer them this option to resolve the problem. It's also worth considering not only your airport, but others nearby.

Can I get a hotel room or alternative compensation?

It is not possible to answer this question definitively. In the US, for example, some steps are being taken towards requiring airlines to pay for hotel and meals for their passengers if they experience a delayed flight due to the carrier's fault. But most companies in America and around the world are still governed by the rules of their internal policies. Many of them may indeed offer you accommodation, so this is also a point to look at when choosing an airline carrier. In any case, it's worth asking the agent about it as soon as you're offered an airline rebooking.

With most EU airlines, in the case of overbooking, the passenger will receive other ancillary compensation such as food and drink, access to phone or email. Payment for the hotel and transfers to the hotel are also possible. The level of compensation from the airline is calculated according to the time the flight is rescheduled or delayed and the distance of the flight.

Be sure to keep evidence of the reason for the flight change: boarding passes, written documents issued by company personnel, luggage tags, etc. Also, don't throw away receipts for overnight stays, cabs and meals.

Rebooking is delayed - what should I do?

If your flight has been canceled and your rebooking tickets are taking a long time to process, it may be worth calling the airline's customer service to find out the reason for the long wait. It's worth using the phone number of a passenger in your higher level travel group who frequently uses that carrier. If your local airline support team won't help, try international - their agents are authorized to make changes.

How do I insure myself in case of a canceled flight?

You can avoid flight changes by planning your trip carefully. If you allow for the possibility that your plans may change, when buying tickets, choose an airline with flexible rebooking options. Also, carefully review the terms of their policies regarding flight cancellations, delays and compensation.

When booking tickets, give priority to direct and early morning flights, as they tend to be more reliable.To avoid missing your morning flight, consider staying at a hotel near the airport. It will also be better to choose less busy dates.

Well, the surest way not to worry about getting a refund on your plane ticket is to get cancellation insurance, which will cover a variety of scenarios, from unforeseen events to injuries and tardiness.

Flight cancelations in 2023

Airline officials say they have been able to reduce the number of flight cancellations since last year by hiring more staff and using larger planes.However, staff shortages, particularly of key personnel - air traffic controllers, pilots and other specialists - remain, which poses a risk to traffic continuity and may be one of the reasons why airlines cancel flights. And, of course, the vagaries of nature can't be canceled either.