Itâs my first trip since mass cancellations and delays have plagued the air travel industry, so needless to say Iâve crossed my fingers, hoping to be able to make the journey as planned on both my outbound and inbound flights.
My Friday morning flight from Detroit Metro Airport on Delta Airlines was on time for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, wow! But the return not so much. I have the Delta app on my phone and before I checked out of my hotel, I went to the app to check in for my flight.
It was then that I was completely confused to see that I had been booked on a completely different flight on a completely different day. It took me a few minutes to realize that it wasnât a glitch on the app and that my flight must have been automatically canceled and rebooked, which wasnât clear on the app.
I immediately checked my email for information and, of course, early that morning, Delta sent me an email notifying me that my flight had been canceled and that I had been automatically rebooked to another flight the following morning. The email also contained links to other options if I wanted to reschedule or cancel. Delta made the process quite informative and easy and all of this was greatly appreciated. Not sure it would be the same experience with other airlines. But it didnât help that I had to be at work at 3:30 the next day to dock our morning and noon news, so I immediately worried about losing my job and selected the reschedule option to see if there was any. âwere other flights that would take me out of South Florida from any airport that day.
Every flight at two major airports said SOLD OUT! So before doing anything else, I notified Local 4 management of my situation and went to work to figure out what I would be doing for the rest of the day and night.
Thankfully, all of this took place while I was still in my hotel and not in the rush of a busy airport. So, my first tip when traveling, monitor your airline app and inbox like a hawk and set it up for alerts so if anything changes you know in real time and can act quickly before you arrive at the airport. . I didnât have my alerts active and I missed a few hours that may or may not have helped me reschedule to go home on the original travel day.
I was also lucky with the hotel I was staying in, I was able to upgrade to the cheapest and simpler room and luckily they had a room available. The airline rebooked my first morning flight departing the next day, but it meant losing my job along with my morning work schedule.
So, I missed a day of work and spent an extra $ 350 for the hotel room and food for the additional day. One advantage is that I opted for ride sharing with Uber over renting a car, so I didnât have the inconvenience of having to return a car or take on the additional expense of maintaining it another day.
The lesson I learned is that this is a new reality for anyone, so you should be prepared with additional money and accommodation options that you may need if your flight is canceled and requires you to stay where you are for one or more additional days. . Also, as I mentioned, make sure you have your airlineâs app and emails set up to send you push alerts on your phone with any new messages.
Iâm not sure this made a difference in making me auto rebook so easily, but booking with an airline like Delta which is a hub in Detroit gives you more flight options to rebook. I am also a Delta SkyMiles member and use the America Express SkyMiles card for most purchases, large and small, from airline tickets to groceries to credit miles. It allowed me to have platinum status with the airline which could have prioritized automatic rebooking of my flight before other travelers, but I canât confirm that, just a hunch it may have helped me.
I also learned in this process that morning flights are less likely to be canceled, so in the future I will book my flights in the morning whenever possible. I also changed a future trip that I had already booked to return a day earlier, so that I already have an extra day of work already scheduled in case my flight is canceled again and I need an extra day to go home .
Another thing I am considering for trips I plan in the future, especially if flight cancellations remain prevalent, is to wait to book something else this year or keep my trips to destinations I can drive to.
Pure Michigan summers are my absolute favorite, so thereâs definitely no reason to leave early!
Copyright 2022 by WDIV ClickOnDreste â All rights reserved.
Where is Evrod cassimy now?
Evrod Cassimy is the morning host of Local 4 News Today. He joined WDIV in August 2013. He is an award-winning journalist and six-time Emmy Award nominee.
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From a young age, Evrod Cassimy gravitated around music, singing in his church choir and showing an early acumen for songwriting. His mother, seeing his strong storytelling skills, encouraged him to devote himself to journalism and at the age of 18 he attended Columbia College in Chicago for television journalism.
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Grant Hermes arrives at Local4 from Oklahoma City. This may interest you : Amazon Showcases Its Latest Warehouse Automation: Fully Autonomous Robots, High-Tech Scanners, and More. He and his fiancĂ©e, Becca, their dog and cat moved to Detroit in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, but they canât wait to meet The D as a general reporter.
Is Hermes Grant married? Becca Slaughter and Grant Hermes wedding website.
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This is precisely the case with the team of husband and wife Shawn Ley and Sandra Ali, both Detroit TV news hosts on WDIV Channel 4 and parents of Roman and Isla, aged 7 and 4 at the time of this interview. Read also : Flight delays and cancellations increase: Summer trips look messy.
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Carolyn, married to Gregory F. Goss, is the mother of Airielle, James and Brooke and the stepmother of Alyssa and Gregory Junior.
Where did Carolyn Clifford come from? A Detroit-born and graduate of Benedictine High School and Michigan State University, Ms. Clifford has been an anchor for WXYZ-DT Action News since 2002. She previously worked at television stations in Pittsburgh PA, Raleigh, NC, Orlando, FL and Lansing, MI.
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Dave and his wife, Sandra, reside in Oakland County. They have two children.
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