As a travel blogger, my biggest fear is missing a flight. If I haven’t had a sleepless night before, you can ensure that I will be awake a few hours before I need to be. Getting everything together and setting off on my way to spare up to 3 hours before my flight. Time is never wasted as it does take time to get through security, have a snoop around Duty Free before enjoying a leisurely pre-flight breakfast. Not forgetting you have very little chance of missing your flight…
In the unfortunate situation where you have missed your flight, many of you will panic because you are unprepared about the steps to take when this happens and how to go about it. I’m sharing a few steps to hopefully recover the situation and get you to where you need to be with minimal stress.
1. Inform the airline
Notifying the airline is one of the best things you can do. Most of the time if you are within two hours of missing your flight, the airline will honour you as a customer and see if they can fit you in on the next available flight or have you on standby. This isn’t always the case with every airline and some will ask you to purchase another ticket. However, it is still important to let the airline know, as often enough the airline will automatically cancel your inbound flight if you don’t make the outbound flight. Alternatively, you could try a Private Jet Charter, such as Jettly. Travelling via a private charter will give you much more lenience regarding the time of take-off should you be running late. It can also be beneficial that you’re able to schedule the flight for when you’re actually needing it, meaning you will be much less likely to miss the flight.
2. Notify the hotel
When you know what time your new arrival time or date will be, let the hotel know. It helps them to know when to expect you, especially if any transport has been arranged with the hotel from the airport. This will also help prevent any unexpected fees that may occur as a result.
3. Check the terms of your insurance
There are usually compensation you can claim through your travel insurance when a flight is missed. This could also be helpful if you need to book another outbound flight, which could be claimed back too depending on your policy. If your insurance doesn’t cover missed flights, if you booked your flights with certain credit cards they cover it as a part of their policy. I know this is the case for British Airways American Express card holders.
4. Book another flight
Booking a new flight out to your destination is inevitable, whether it means the airline will cover it as a good will gesture or you have to pay your way before getting a payout from your insurance. Just ensure you try and save your inbound flight first, so that there is only is only a one way flight to fork out for.
5. Learn from your mistakes
I think the biggest part about missing your flight is learning from your mistakes. It is easily done, even for those that travel for a living. It is easy to beat yourself up about the situation but once it has been resolved, go and get yourself a nice glass of wine and some food or even lounge access along with an express massage if you have a long wait before your next flight. Treating yourself will put you in a better mood for the rest of your trip.
Have you ever missed a flight? Go on… spill! 😉
Until next time…
