So what do you do when the forces of nature or mechanical problems cause a cancellation? Get rebooked ASAP because more often than not it’s first-come, first-served.  I misconnected on a flight from Geneva to London recently and eventually when I arrived at Heathrow it seemed that the whole world had suffered delays. The lines were unspeakably long; airline staff was pushed to the limits and I knew it would take me more hours than I had to connect to a flight that would get me back to Boston. This is where it pays to do the unconventional – don’t follow the crowds! Think quickly.  I went out through passport control, pretended I was arriving in London, went immediately up to departures, (pleasantly queue-free) and checked my options there. It worked!

In these days of trending away from travel agents and into DIY travel, you leave yourself exposed to the long lines that are choking your options, and the not-so-friendly folks who are overloaded too.  Does this sound terrible? Well, not really because it doesn’t happen as much as you think. But when it does happen and you’re stuck in this vortex of panic – be aware and be ahead of the game. Firstly, get to the front of queue as fast as possible.  If you have a responsive travel agency (like ACIS!) that booked your flights, contact them immediately – they can see things and evaluate a whole ton of options that will take you hours to figure out. Be alert and notice the signs of a potentially cancelled flight: delay, upon delay, upon delay, with very little explanation. And probably the hardest part for most people – you have to walk the fine line of being pushy, without being a pain. Airline personnel are invariably nicer to the nice people who understand what they’re going through as well. Get nasty and they’ll get nasty too.

Fun facts that would be nice in a carefree and no money limits world.

1. Fly Internationally – these planes are huge and expensive to cancel.
2. Don’t fly across the street – regional flights are 3x as likely to be cancelled than larger planes.  And they suck. There’s no room for bags and if you thought the drinks tray was scant on a big plane, you gotta check out the scene on one of these babies. And let’s face it, when those planes change direction it’s not subtle.
3. Be important – seriously. No one is going to cancel Brad Pitt’s plane, assuming he doesn’t have his own. If you’re not important, look important.
4. Borrow a kid – families get priorities on rebooking. Traveling solo? Saddle up next to a family of 5 and strike up a conversation. It helps if it’s Brad Pitt’s family.
5. Avoid high season – flights are packed so if yours gets cancelled, good luck squeezing onto another one; winter travel is easier to rebook than summer travel so chances are you’ll be re-booked faster in the winter than in the summer when the airlines have less capacity to play with. Sure, it might mean a ski holiday or a freezing fortnight in Europe rather than a balmy Paris in July holiday, but these are the cards we are dealt!

Forget the list and take your chances – Imagine a world without delays, without mechanicals and with lovely weather. May the force be with you. The stats are.