A new airline quality study just released says the trend of bumped flights, lost bags and delayed flights has progressively gotten worse over the past three years and shows no signs of reversing:
“We’re going to see more delays, and those delays translate to cancellations, mishandled bags and unhappy passengers,” said David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group for the major U.S. carriers. “It’s not a pretty picture.”
While most of the the delays are caused by bad weather another problem is with the expected growth of air travel in the near future:
Making matters worse, he said, more planes are going to be in the air in the coming years, and the air traffic control system is not capable of handling the rate of growth.
Travel delay due to bad weather is covered to varying degrees in most of the packaged travel insurance plans, and worthwhile if you have other travel arrangements that are time-sensitive, such as catching a cruise or tour. It is also wise to give yourself as much time as possible between arriving at a scheduled departure point and departing on a cruise or tour.
For more specifics:
What plans cover travel delay?
Trip cancellation insurance due to weather
Quote for travel delay