It’s the bane of every traveler - you arrive at the airport in plenty of
time, only to discover that your flight has been cancelled and you’ve
been placed on the next available plane, which isn’t departing for
another three hours. So much for your tight schedule; you’ll never make
it now.
Cancelled flights, delays and gate changes are things over which none of
us have any control. Worse, such changes are usually made at the last minute,
after you’ve left for the airport and after you’ve made that last-minute call
to the airline to make sure everything on schedule.
Unknown to many travelers, the airlines - as well as many online booking
sites - now offer special services to alert passengers to such changes. If
your flight is cancelled or delayed, or if there’s a gate change you can now
have a text message sent to you via email, or to your cell phone or PDA.
You can even get a voice message on your cell phone or regular telephone.
Some services will even forward these alerts to persons you select - friends,
relatives, business associates - so they can get the word on your delayed
or cancelled flight.
Most of the major airlines now offer some sort of notification service, but
you have to sign up for it. The same goes for the online booking sites like
Orbitz or Travelocity. If you’re willing to spend a little time to sign up now
you can save yourself a whole lot of frustration later.
About the Author
Laura Quarantiello is the author of “Air-Ways The Insider’s Guide to
Air Travel.” More info about this and her other books can be found at
http://www.tiare.com/airways.htm