Cancelled Flights? Get in Line

In these days of cancelled flights and chaotic air travel in the U.S. travel insurance is a must – even required by some destinations – to ensure vacationers don’t get stuck with a week’s more vacation bills than they had budgeted in the event of a positive Covid test. However, what happens when a flight is cancelled, connecting flights are missed and the holiday is now spent at airport hotels hoping for a seat on the next flight out?

It is no secret that cancelled flights are on the rise these days, showing signs of little improvement for this summer. Everyone, including this author, has a stack of recent airline horror stories to recount, of airlines cancelling at the last minute, no seats on flights out until the next day or beyond, of connections missed due to unexplained delays – usually due to staffing shortages and lack of training but blamed on the weather. For those without insurance, airline chaos equals deep losses in vacation dollars and unexpected expenses. However, for those with insurance, are flight screw-ups on the list of things to be covered and credited?

Cancelled Flight: Prepare to Stay

Being prepared for travel plans to change at any point before takeoff is key to adapting to the ever-changing travel industry. One sure way of doing that is by having a travel insurance policy in place. But just how far does coverage for cancelled flights reach when it comes to coverage? According to Yonder Travel Insurance there are times when coverage can and also times when it cannot help smooth flight cancellations, changes, and delays.

Coverage for a Cancelled Flight

The purpose of travel insurance is to protect insured trip costs if the vacationer suddenly has to cancel a trip. However, if the travel supplier cancels a flight, it’s unlikely that travel insurance will provide reimbursement of the ticket. Flight cancellations due to bankruptcy, mechanical breakdown, or natural disasters might be covered, but most other reasons will likely be excluded, even if the purchased policy offers Cancel for Any Reason CFAR) coverage. If an airline cancels the flight, it’s expected they are responsible for reimbursing or accommodating passengers for those lost expenses and Yonder recommends they reach out to their travel agent or common carrier for their cancellation policies.

Flight Changes and Insurance Recues

On the other hand, if the airline makes a change to a passenger’s itinerary or cancels their flight, a travel insurance policy could provide coverage for the change fees to reissue the ticket. Some policies will even reimburse policy holders for an activity that was missed due to the flight change.

“Look for travel insurance policies that include itinerary change or change fee coverage in the certificate”, recommends Terry Boynton, co-founder and president of Yonder Travel Insurance. Boynton says, “If you need help finding a policy that includes these specific benefits, our team of friendly humans and experts would be happy to point you in the right direction”.

Cancelled Flights and Delayed Rewards 

As flight delays are so prevalent these days and are expected to continue this summer, travelers can expect plenty of rough weather ahead even if skies are clear. Good news is, most travel insurance policies will help reimburse the costs of extra hotel, meal, and local transportation costs incurred due to a significant flight delay. Passengers must make sure to keep all receipts and invoices as this is an important part in getting a claim approved.

Cancelled Flights and Travel Chaos: The Numbers

Global airlines are seeing fast-rising air travel demand at a time when they’re still recovering from COVID-19 and face labor shortfalls affecting every job from pilots to baggage handlers, according to a new report from consulting firm Oliver Wyman. In Europe and the United States, for example, sudden spikes in demand continue to cause cancellations and delays.

“While we are seeing a very solid rebound in passenger travel, operational problems and labor shortages across the industry have become acute problems,” said Tom Stalnaker, Oliver Wyman’s global aviation practice lead and co-author of the Airline Economic Analysis. 

Demand is simply outpacing the ability to bring capacity back online, added Khalid Usman, a partner in aviation and co-author of the report. “If you’ve flown recently, you would have felt this firsthand. Carriers are struggling to find people when they need them,” Usman said.

Oliver Wyman’s Airline Economic Analysis (AEA) is an annual report that looks in detail at trends that affected airlines and the aviation industry generally over the past year. It analyzes what these trends will mean for the industry moving forward. Among the insights in this year’s AEA are:

*Demand recovery is steady and solid across both leisure and corporate travel, and US airlines are looking at one of their best quarters in recent history.

*Leisure demand is close to pre-pandemic levels. Corporate bookings, while still lagging leisure travel, are rising, and international demand continues to improve as travel restrictions ease.

*Tight labor market conditions go beyond having enough crews for flights; it also reflects staffing problems in the ranks of ground staff, baggage handlers, air traffic controllers, TSA agents, and vendors that help supply airlines and airports.

*Additionally, there are not enough people to repair aircraft. A stunning 85% of senior executives in a recent annual survey noted finding new hires was their biggest challenge.

*All of this is having a direct impact on carriers’ on-time performance. In February 2022, the latest US data available showed on-time performance at 76.8% — seven percentage points lower than in November 2021, which included busy Thanksgiving travel days.

*Aviation will also have to worry about the global push for net zero emissions. As a hard-to-abate industry, it may have to wait until at least the mid-2030s for low-carbon breakthrough technology to be available for the biggest reductions. But over the next five to 10 years, it is expected to turn to sustainable aviation fuel, with 80% lower emissions than conventional jet fuel, to help control emissions.