See that title? Flights can become un-delayed and re-delayed? Yeah. My wife and I have experienced this situation on two separate occasions, so I’m sharing it with everyone. Not knowing that this type of flight change is possible can result in missing your flight and needing to be rebooked hours to days later than you intended to travel.
What do I mean when I say a flight can be “un-delayed”? I know there’s a more technically accurate term, but I’m not an expert in airline terminology. It’s easiest to explain by sharing our experience in 2019 on an American Airlines flight from Orlando to LaGuardia.
I generally don’t like to take late flights because there’s a whole day where a single delay can cascade through the airline schedule, throwing off multiple flights. However, on this day, AA only had one direct flight from Orlando to New York, and it left at 7:43 PM.
With a departure time later in the day, we can work on things around the house before dropping off our dog at “camp” (the kennel). We can then pack with her out of the house (Our dog has a thing about suitcases. Doesn’t like them. Can’t figure out why… ;-)). We had all that done by early afternoon, bags packed by the door and thinking about where to stop for linner (lunch/dinner) before heading to the airport.
At 2:39 PM, I received the first notification from American Airlines:
At the time, a late-season snowstorm was hitting the Chicago area.
I tracked our flight using the FlightAware app and found our plane was flying from Chicago to New York – JFK before Orlando. Combine the weather delay in Chicago with the delays at JFK, and you will have the perfect storm for late-day delays or cancellations.
I give American Airlines credit for the advance notice about the delay. There’s not much to do at Orlando Airport, so I’d rather sit at home for an extra hour than watch TV at an airport gate.
At 3:52 PM, I received the following message:
Sharon took a quick nap while I worked on the website. Then, at 6 p.m., I received another email. I figured this one would be about them canceling the flight.
WRONG!!!!!
Our flight went from being delayed for 2+ hours to leaving on time. They sent this message 105 minutes before the flight was due to leave.
It turned out that AA swapped planes and put us on an aircraft already parked at Orlando for the night.
“Wake Up, Sharon; We need to leave. NOW!!!”
Forget about a leisurely dinner before heading to the airport. I grabbed our bags and threw them in the car. Thankfully, this was a short trip, so we were only bringing carry-on bags. To save time, we decided to park at the airport terminal parking instead of off-site. MCO’s TSA checkpoints can be horrible, but since we have TSA Precheck and CLEAR, I wasn’t worried about long security lines.
With a bit of accelerated driving, luck finding a great parking spot and breezing through security, we were at our gate 50 minutes after leaving our house (a record). Boarding was due to start in 15 minutes, which was just enough time to grab a burger for us to eat on the plane and relax, since we made it on time.
So then what happened? We sat at the gate past the boarding time. And sat. And then:
While we rushed to the airport for our plane, the new plane had no crew. Kudos to the American agents working the gate who gave constant updates. The first delay was because the flight crew just landed, and the flight attendants were en route from their hotel.
The second delay occurred because no one from AA bothered to notify the crew at the hotel that the flight time had changed. They were still at the hotel, but we were told, “They’re definitely on their way now.”
When they arrived, the waiting crowd gave them a round of applause as they walked to the gate. We all wanted to get on our way.
The captain’s announcement after boarding was the best. To paraphrase him:
Hi there. Thanks for flying American. I was supposed to be staying in Orlando tonight but then I was told I’m going to New York. I don’t know what happened to your flights today or why you’re delayed. Anyway, thanks for your patience. I guess we’ll get on our way to New York. Again, thanks for flying American.
This Still Happens All The Time
You might think that in the last few years, airlines would have gotten better about estimating flight delays or figuring out if they would wait for repairs or use a replacement plane. But that’s not the case. Check out these Reddit threads:
- Have you ever encountered a delayed flight that actually left early (or back on time)?
- I work as a gate manager. This happens all the time. — DogsReadingBooks
- Yeah, this has happened a few times to me. I learned my lesson by missing the flight once because the 8 hour delay turned into only 45 minutes and I wasn’t paying attention. — Kananaskis_Country
- Last fall, I had one (EWR-LAX) that was delayed 6 hours due to a mechanical issue. After 1 hour of waiting, they announced they had found a replacement plane and put us on right away. We ended up arriving only 30 minutes late. — Lorkus_Mallorkus
- Flight was delayed by >2h, then left on time with no notice. How can I get refunded? – How is this ok? The flight kept getting pushed back and pushed back throughout the day so I was spending a bit more time with my family, then 20m before the originally scheduled takeoff they said it was boarding and back on time again and it took off right on time (without time for me and I presume many others to get there).
- It happened to me last week, but since i was already at the airport, it didnt screw me. It was a 1.5 hour delay that suddenly went to original time, 40 mins before flight. — dubchampion
- I’ve had this “oh, s#!+” moment several times while sitting in the club. You never know when something else will happen that makes alternate crew/equipment available. — doc_ocho
- I arrived LAX from Asia and had a “delay” with the connection to my home airport. Initially it was a 2+ hour delay. I went to get some food and in less than 20 mins, the flight went back to the original schedule. Lesson learned – go to the airport based on the original flight time — johnnygolfr
- Flight delayed. New take off time posted. Leaves Early. – Flight delayed. New take off time is an hour later due to mechanical issue. Go get some food for 20 minutes. Come back and they locked the door 25 minutes before flight is scheduled to leave. Any recourse
- With delayed flights especially, you really have to be attentive about what’s going on at your gate. Showing up just 10 minutes before the gate would have closed with a 5:30 departure time isn’t wise. And in this case, it was an estimated delay rather than the original scheduled departure. — tariqabjotu
Final Thoughts
I give American credit for proactive flight alerts. I received them simultaneously as the alerts I got from TripIt with my TripIt Pro service, which wasn’t always the case. The problem is that the system is almost too good. People rely on technology to plan their lives. If you tell me my flight will be two hours late, I will adjust my schedule accordingly. If you’re a casual flyer (and most of the people on a flight from Orlando to New York are leisure travelers), you’re not going to have the luxury of rushing to the airport if you’re still at the pool when the alert comes in that your flight is back on schedule.
Given, there is this vague disclaimer on American’s email notification:
Please note that times and locations are subject to change.
What could they do differently? Maybe they could put an asterisk at the bottom saying that American is still working on getting your flight to have an on-time departure, and you are expected to be at the airport for the time of the original flight, in case they can make that happen. Would that make people happier or more upset? Knowing I have to be at the airport on time just to wait for 2 hours because American (or any other airline) can’t decide what time my flight will leave will not bring me joy.
I’m sure some people don’t get alerts like I do and just show up at the airport only to see the delayed flight. So, for them, AA switching planes and cutting what could have been a two-hour delay to a one-hour delay is a huge win.
I’d say just know that when you get a flight notice about a delay, it might not actually happen. Plan on getting to the airport for an on-time departure, but be ready to wait out the delay. Here’s an instance where having access to a lounge at the airport comes in handy. It’s a pity we don’t have access to the American Lounge.
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