Your flight was supposed to leave at 6:00 p.m., but the airline app now says 8:15. That sounds like two unexpected hours to work with. Maybe you can leave home later, linger over dinner or spend some extra time in the airport lounge. Then you look at your phone again and the departure has moved…
Your flight is supposed to land in Boston. Instead, the captain announces that the plane is diverting to Providence. The obvious question is, “What compensation do I get for a diverted flight?” But that is usually the wrong place to start. A diversion describes what happened to the airplane. It does not tell you whether…
Your flight has been canceled. The airline’s app offers you another flight tomorrow afternoon. Then you look at the departure board and see something infuriating: Another airline has a flight to the same city leaving in two hours. Can you make your airline put you on it? Sometimes. Several major U.S. airlines have formally committed…
Your first flight lands late. By the time you reach the terminal, your connecting flight is gone. What happens next depends heavily on one detail travelers often overlook when booking: Were both flights issued on the same ticket? If they were, the airline will normally treat the missed connection as part of the disrupted journey…
Updated August 2026 You are flying to a wedding that starts at 4 p.m. Your connecting flight is canceled, and the airline’s best alternative gets you there at 9 p.m. Technically, the airline can still transport you to your destination. Practically, there is no longer much reason to go. Airlines have a term for this…
Your flight is canceled. You are standing at the airport with a dead phone battery, a hotel reservation you may lose and no idea when you are getting home. Then the airline sends you a message containing two words that sound suspiciously like they were written by lawyers: Operational issue. Or perhaps it is “weather,”…