Still Freaking Out About Flight

[katmigordon]

We have a 5:30pm cruise the day before we sail, It's just an hour flight from phoenix to San Diego.
But all this talk in the news about cancelations is freaking me out.
Should we change this flight to an earlier time?

 

[Sykes]

I personally wouldn't worry about it. There are a number of alternative flights you could take later on if for some reason there is difficulty on your original flight.

Do you drive? I know it wouldn't be fun, but San Diego is only a ~6 hour drive from Phoenix (Google Maps says with minimal traffic it's 5h20m from Sky Harbor to the San Diego Cruise Terminal), so in a worst-case-scenario where your flight is canceled and there are no viable alternatives you could potentially just drive.

 

[katmigordon]

The only issue with that is that our care wont make that trip, and I'm worried we wont be able to rent a car last minute.

I personally wouldn't worry about it. There are a number of alternative flights you could take later on if for some reason there is difficulty on your original flight.

Do you drive? I know it wouldn't be fun, but Phoenix is only a ~6 hour drive from San Diego, so in a worst-case-scenario where your flight is canceled and there are no viable alternatives you could potentially just drive.

 

[Sykes]

What is the downside for you to moving to an earlier flight? If it'll ease your nerves a little and you're not giving up much by doing so then it seems like a good decision to me.

The risk of missing your cruise is pretty low because there are lots of alternative flights (on most days AA has a 8:10P PHX-SAN flight and Southwest has an 8:35P departure, and the next day there are 4 or 5 departures by AA or Southwest that would get you there on time), but it may still be worth it to move earlier if that makes it easier for you to relax and transition into vacation mode.

 

[katmigordon]

We've already changed the flights so many times because of covid changes - it's starting to frustrate Deb and she's the one that handle's the actual getting on the phone stuff, I don't do phones well, I get really freaked out and flustered. If I could tell her she didn't have to call them again it would really make her night.

What is the downside for you to moving to an earlier flight? If it'll ease your nerves a little and you're not giving up much by doing so then it seems like a good decision to me.

The risk of missing your cruise is pretty low because there are lots of alternative flights (on most days AA has a 8:10P PHX-SAN flight and Southwest has an 8:35P departure, and the next day there are 4 or 5 departures by AA or Southwest that would get you there on time), but it may still be worth it to move earlier if that makes it easier for you to relax and transition into vacation mode.

 

[happycamper47]

The only issue with that is that our care wont make that trip, and I'm worried we wont be able to rent a car last minute.

You can usually rent a car to be picked up at the airport without a deposit and then cancel it when you get to the airport if your flight goes.

 

[catsrgr8]

You can usually rent a car to be picked up at the airport without a deposit and then cancel it when you get to the airport if your flight goes.

This is what we did when we cruised in April and were worried about possibly testing positive at port. I had booked a backup rental car and canceled it once we were cleared to sail!

 

[katmigordon]

Do we have to pay for this ahead of time?

This is what we did when we cruised in April and were worried about possibly testing positive at port. I had booked a backup rental car and canceled it once we were cleared to sail!

 

[catsrgr8]

Do we have to pay for this ahead of time?

Nope! Most rental car companies offer free cancellation and no need to pay at time of booking. We booked through Costco travel. Just double check that you’re able to cancel before you book.

 

[happycamper47]

Do we have to pay for this ahead of time?

No.

 

[katmigordon]

This is brilliant - thank you!

No.

 

[brentm77]

We have a 5:30pm cruise the day before we sail, It's just an hour flight from phoenix to San Diego.
But all this talk in the news about cancelations is freaking me out.
Should we change this flight to an earlier time?

Use flightaware.com and your flight number to see what the flight is doing most days lately. It will give you a good feel if any patterns for delays or cancelations for that particular flight. I personally wouldn't worry. It has improved a lot since early summer, and even at its worst, the odds of your particulars flight being canceled are statistically low. We traveled during the worst of it and only had a few delays. There are also several other options to get there if something happens to that flight.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I live in GA, the Delta hub. It's been all over the news that Delta pilots will strike.

 

[happycamper47]

I live in GA, the Delta hub. It's been all over the news that Delta pilots will strike.

That's informational picketing.

Tuesday's picketing and protest was purely informational, as pilots and other airline employees are not allowed to strike under federal law without going through a lengthy approval process with federal labor regulators