Planners rely on travel management professionals for group air arrangements. But they may not be the best first call when a hurricane disrupts flights.
A few days before my September 25 flight from Dublin to Miami, I got an alert from American Airlines that Miami flights might be canceled due to approaching Hurricane Helene. I had booked directly with AA, and they offered free flight changes. ​I kept a close watch on the path of the storm with the Weather Channel app, and ultimately arrived home safely. I was one of thousands with disrupted travel plans. A few weeks later hurricane Milton hit, causing thousands of flight cancellations once again. As of this writing in mid-October, the busy hurricane season isn’t over yet. And when it finally abates, winter Nor’easters to come will likely cause travel disruptions once again.
It’s clear that when severe weather strikes, travel plans can change in an instant—leaving thousands scrambling to adjust their flights, notes leading corporate group travel management company AllFly. In these moments, they advise, having the airline’s app installed on smartphones isn’t just a convenience—it’s a vital tool.
Here are AllFly’s tips for what to do when severe weather disrupts flights for planners and attendees:
• When flights are canceled due to weather disruptions, thousands of people will be fighting for limited seats. AllFly recommends that travelers go straight to the airline’s website or app to make changes. “The airline apps and associated websites now give travelers a wide range of options to self-service reservations.”
• Time is of the essence. Travelers need to act speedily to change flight arrangements because when the airlines issue weather advisories, people start changing flights en mass. Here’s the math as calculated by AllFly: “Let’s say a Boeing 737 has 189 seats. At 85 percent capacity, that means only 28 seats will be open on average.”
• If you fly on Delta, United, JetBlue or Alaska you can change your flights on the airline’s website or app—even if purchased through a travel management company. There is no need to call your travel management company, who may be inundated with requests and take longer to help.
• If you purchased tickets for American or Southwest flights from a travel management company and are outside of 24 hours for a flight change, you will likely be routed to your agency (depending on the ticket type) to make changes.
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