7 lessons I learned during a 24-hour flight delay

Last June, my trip from Newark International Airport to London Heathrow for the Queen’s Jubilee turned into what can only be described as a royal mess. The 24-hour ordeal—a combination of weather delays, overbooking mishaps, and jockeying for standby seats—pushed my patience to the brink.

After hours spent roaming the terminal, I formed unexpected bonds with other stranded passengers and even airport staff. One kind couple, having caught me staring hopelessly at the flight-status board, pulled me aside and shared a phone number reserved for high-level loyalty customers. By the 11th (or was it the 12th?) hour, I had hopped between lounges so often that every concierge knew me.

As the hours passed, I also befriended fellow travel writer Zach Honig. While waiting for his flight to Mallorca, he generously put his air-travel expertise to use, helping flustered passengers around him hack their delays. I struck up a conversation after overhearing that he’d worked his magic to get a group of three onto the same flight I was tracking, and he showed me how to use a tool called ExpertFlyer to check real-time seat availability. There was guesswork and a bit of careful timing involved in using the app, but his method eventually got me on a flight to London.

Since he proved so helpful in my experience, I decided to ask Honig—along with travel expert Scott Keyes of Scott’s Cheap Flights—for more advice on shortening maddening flight delays and surviving cancellations. Read on for their tips and tricks so you can keep your cool the next time you’re stuck at the airport.

Once your flight is delayed, it’s unlikely it will move back up and leave earlier—but it’s always possible. “Sometimes major flight delays get reversed, such as when the airline is able to find a replacement aircraft rather than relying on a delayed inbound plane,” said Keyes. “It’s not common, but not unheard of." To avoid getting surprised by any departure changes, he suggests signing up for your airline's text notifications if you plan to leave the gate area.

The moment a flight is canceled, everyone makes a mad dash for the next best option, so it’s smart to ask for help multiple ways. Honig suggests getting in line for the gate agent immediately and, while you’re waiting, calling the airline, since you might get through to an agent on the phone first. “While you're waiting in line and on hold on the phone, pull up the airline's app and check your options there,” he said. “Every second counts when you're competing with hundreds of other passengers for an empty seat!”

Another trick of the trade, according to Keyes, is to try the airline’s international hotline, rather than their main number. Most other passengers will “clog the airline’s main U.S. hotline, while calls to the Mexico or Canada or U.K. offices will go right through,” he said. Just don’t get out of line to make the call. “Standing in line is still helpful in case you get to the desk first, or if you need arrangements best handled in person, such as hotel vouchers for the evening.”

If lines to speak to an agent at customer service desks or at the gate are too long, Honig suggests purchasing a day pass to your airline's lounge, so you can speak with the agents inside the lounge instead. “These agents are less likely to have a long wait," he said. "It pays to be proactive, and to do whatever you can to be among the first passengers to get rebooked.”

When a flight is canceled, agents have to deal with an enormous volume of passengers, so they don’t have time to look into all your possible flight options. “Do your own research about which replacement flight you would ideally like to be put on and ask specifically to be put on it,” said Keyes. “Airline agents are often swamped when there’s a disruption and have a lot of people to handle as quickly as possible, so remember that you’re your own best advocate.”

Guaranteeing that your checked bags follow you after unexpected flight changes can be tricky, explained Keyes. “The extra time required to find the bag and transfer it to the new plane can sometimes prevent that bag from making it,” he said. Avoid the headache by bringing only a carry-on suitcase. “Being able to quickly and easily get rebooked is one reason why it’s ideal to avoid checking a bag whenever possible,” Keyes added.

You may be owed compensation for flight disruptions more often than you realize—whether by the airline, the government, or even your credit card. Even things like hotels, taxis, meals, and incidentals after a lost or delayed bag could all be covered, said Keyes. Be sure to follow up with your airline after you’ve made it to your destination to see if there’s anything you’re owed and review your credit card's travel insurance policies.