’Tis the season to be paranoid. After last winter’s travel chaos, can you blame us for feeling anxious about airports?
There was that “once in a generation storm,” and the resulting Southwest meltdown where more than 15,000 flights were canceled over the busy holiday travel stretch. Then there’s the string of airplane near-misses over the past year attributed to understaffing and outdated technology at the Federal Aviation Administration.
As the next wave of holiday travel approaches, is there any hope for us?
“If the comparison is last year, then yes, I’m feeling optimistic,” said Ganesh Sitaraman, author of “Why Flying Is Miserable: And How to Fix It.”
Scott Keyes, founder of the flight booking site Going, says bad weather will always be an X factor, but airlines are coming into the holidays on much stronger footing this December. He argues airlines have more staff than in 2022 and more planes in rotation. Cancellations are down from last year, too, from 2.7 percent to about 1.6 (through September). After the Southwest debacle, “airlines walked away with a much more conservative approach to scheduling, and now the schedules are much more realistic,” Keyes added.
The Transportation Security Administration also recorded its busiest day on record over the Thanksgiving travel period, and there were no meltdowns.
But as the old saying goes, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Here are nine ways to prepare for holiday flying, just in case, from low-lift to hardcore.
Easy: Buy travel insurance
To protect yourself from incurring extra costs should your plans go haywire, “get travel insurance,” said Katalina Mayorga, founder and CEO of El Camino Travel.
Before you book a policy, check to see whether the credit card you used to book the trip offers travel insurance perks; many cover costs associated with lost luggage, travel delays and weather cancellations. Then you can buy any additional coverage you want.
Mayorga goes with the company Battleface, which offers customizable coverage. For about $100 extra per person, “it’s going to be peace of mind,” Mayorga said.
