What happens if my flight is cancelled day of?

[Minnesota!]

Ok - so like the neurotic planning freak I am, I have been watching "my flight" on flightaware for the last few weeks. 3 times now it has been CANCELLED. What happens in that instance? Do they put you on the next flight? Make you wait till the same flight the next day?

It's the only non stop from MSP each day...I really want to be on it Just want to be prepared in case "worst case scenario" takes place.

Thanks!

 

[kathie859]

Ok - so like the neurotic planning freak I am, I have been watching "my flight" on flightaware for the last few weeks. 3 times now it has been CANCELLED. What happens in that instance? Do they put you on the next flight? Make you wait till the same flight the next day?

It's the only non stop from MSP each day...I really want to be on it Just want to be prepared in case "worst case scenario" takes place.

Thanks!

Yikes!!! That would make me nervous, too.....and I am a frequent flyer.

I hope this is an early flight so you'll have time for alternative flights. You may want to do online checkin (if your airline does this) and arrive in plenty of time at the airport. Research alternative ways of getting to your final destination so you'll be armed with information and not rely solely on airline personel to get you the best flights.

Good luck!

 

[Minnesota!]

Yikes!!! That would make me nervous, too.....and I am a frequent flyer.

I hope this is an early flight so you'll have time for alternative flights. You may want to do online checkin (if your airline does this) and arrive in plenty of time at the airport. Research alternative ways of getting to your final destination so you'll be armed with information and not rely solely on airline personel to get you the best flights.

Good luck!

Thanks! It's a 7am flight - and I will be checking in at the 24 hour mark! We always get there super early - will be there before 5 for this flight (and the counters don't open till 5 anyway...).

I will make note of the next flights so I have that info should it happen. I don't know if it's low #'s, mechanical issues, etc. When I look at our seating chart on our reservation, there are very few seats selected...but then again, (it's Airtran), there might be a lot of people who bought through SW and won't be assigned seats till 24 hours out. Just something more to add to my worries, lol!

 

[keishashadow]

Ok - so like the neurotic planning freak I am, I have been watching "my flight" on flightaware for the last few weeks. 3 times now it has been CANCELLED. What happens in that instance? Do they put you on the next flight? Make you wait till the same flight the next day?

It's the only non stop from MSP each day...I really want to be on it Just want to be prepared in case "worst case scenario" takes place.

Thanks!

To be clear...you're booked on AT flight thru their site? If booked via SWA you need to work with them on a cancellation resolution.

It's up to you to monitor the flight status. If it's cancelled and there's room on subsequent flights it's first-come, first-served as to getting a seat.

If it would happen to you while 'at' the airport, make sure to call AT while you're waiting in the customer service line since it might be faster to grab seats.

curious, do you think the cancellations might have been due to weather issues vs equipment/staffing/outright cancellation?

Good luck.

 

[ironz]

Just another thought.....what with the AT/SW merger...
Have the cancellations all happened on the same day of the week? all on Mondays or Wednesdays, for example?

Maybe that flight number just one day a week got dropped with ongoing AT/SW changes. (though it seems like FlightAware might know the actual schedule better). In some markets, I have seen where SW may operate a certain flight 6x/week, but a different schedule on Saturdays, for example.

Just throwing that scenario out there.

 

[Minnesota!]

Bought AT through AT...

Weather today was perfect...nothing of that sort.

And the cancellations have come on a Sun/Mon/Fri...no rhyme or reason to it.

I just hate having this "what if" hanging over my head...

 

[keishashadow]

Bought AT through AT...

Weather today was perfect...nothing of that sort.

And the cancellations have come on a Sun/Mon/Fri...no rhyme or reason to it.

I just hate having this "what if" hanging over my head...

the weather could be fine @ your home airport but if you don't have a 5:30 - 6:00 am flight it's likely the plane is originating somewhere else first...then delays & cancellations roll out down the line.

have you considered calling AT and asking 'why'? if you are a rewards member, select the option and ask to speak to a supervisor, perhaps they can alleviate your concerns.

 

[rwdavis2]

Several things. Go to the specific site where you booked the tickets and find the airline's Contract of Carriage. This is what they are REQUIRED to do by law for cancelled flights. This may vary from airline to airline.

If you are already at the gate and they cancel, go ahead and get in line if you like but CALL the airline. You will probably have a better chance of beating all the people ahead of you in line for getting the next flight.

Or if you are really paranoid check the cancellation policies for refundable tickets and book tickets for the next day and then cancel them if you make the original flight. I'm not sure if that will work, I mean booking 2 outbound flights a day apart. Depends on what's more important getting to the destination or saving money. You could wait days to get on the next flight.

 

[DebbieB]

If it's a 7:00am flight and is cancelled, odds are it didn't come in the night before so check if the flight the night before was cancelled (it may not be coming from Orlando, it could be coming from another city). When it comes to your date, you can check if it came in that night. I frequently do that when I have the first flight of the morning and I'm not at a hub. If the flight the night before came in late, many times the morning flight is delayed due to crew rest rules, the same crew flies it out in the morning. Since MSP is not a hub for AirTran, chances are it's that situation. AirTran's main hub is Atlanta, so the flight the night before could be coming from there.

 

[Gracie09]

If you have trip insurance check what it says. Depending on the terms if your flight is cancelled you may be able to book another on a different airline and get refunded the cost. Getting your luggage is a different story though.

 

[momto3pirates]

We were booked on a 7:30 am flight on united to lax. I went up to get the kids up and DH says our flight had been cancelled. I seriously that he was joking and told him that he was not funny. He said, " I'm serious. It's cancelled". I grabbed my phone and called united. The rep asked how far we were from the airport as they had a 6:30 am flight. Fortunately we live close. We were able to snag the last seats on the flight. We have never gotten out of the house that fast! I am a planner and that little bump about gave me a heart attack.

 

[Minnesota!]

If it's a 7:00am flight and is cancelled, odds are it didn't come in the night before so check if the flight the night before was cancelled (it may not be coming from Orlando, it could be coming from another city). When it comes to your date, you can check if it came in that night. I frequently do that when I have the first flight of the morning and I'm not at a hub. If the flight the night before came in late, many times the morning flight is delayed due to crew rest rules, the same crew flies it out in the morning. Since MSP is not a hub for AirTran, chances are it's that situation. AirTran's main hub is Atlanta, so the flight the night before could be coming from there.

Thanks! I am going to check into this right now.

 

[Minnesota!]

So I checked and none of the flights that come in and become my flight...have been cancelled!! So I have no clue. I think if it happens again this week before we go I will call AT and see what the deal is..

 

[dudspizza]

I wouldn't worry too much. Airtran and Southwest only have gates 7-10 in Humphrey, so they don't have a lot of planes sitting there over night.......

What I do is have the Airline in my phone. If it is cancelled, I call them immediately for rebooking. They get you on the next available flight..... sometimes in an hour, sometimes, much later.

I had friends get their connecting flight (United) cancelled when they arrived in Denver. They were put on standby for the next flight which they did not get on. They then went to standby on the next flight, which they did get on.

Cancellations suck, but being prepared with the proper information (airline phone numbers, other flight options, etc....) will help you work with the airline to resolve your situation..... which is something many people don't do and then panic ensues at the airport!

Duds