warnberh t1_j51hvps wrote
Hi! I've noticed a lot more headaches related to air travel lately - poor communication, delays, etc. What do you think is causing these things and what do you think most basic travelers (aka bozos like me) need to know to understand and mitigate these headaches?
wsj OP t1_j51j1bx wrote
2022 was not a good year for airlines and passengers. Even Delta Air Lines, the No. 1 carrier in our latest ranking of U.S. carriers, canceled more than triple the number of flights it did in 2021. The main issue: airlines got giddy about travel returning and scheduled way more flights than they and the air travel system overall could handle. Thankfully, they got more realistic in the second half of the year and things generally improved. The best thing you can do as a traveler: build in some buffers, especially if you have to be somewhere for an event you can't miss. Don't fly in the day of a cruise or night before a wedding. Don't cut it close getting to the airport.
-Dawn
edit: added a gift link
warnberh t1_j51hxz3 wrote
Follow up: What do the good airlines do best and the bad airlines do worst?
wsj OP t1_j51jnqv wrote
The good airlines do what we all want in a trip: take off and land on time as often as possible, don't cancel at the last minute and get your bags where they need to be, as quickly as possible. And, when things go bad, they keep you up to date on what's going on, as frequently and accurately as possible. Don't know if you've flown United Airlines recently, but they spell out, in detail, why your flight is delayed or canceled. It doesn't necessarily make passengers less annoyed but at least they feel like they're in the loop. -- Dawn
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