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Why Airlines Are Delaying Flights For Hours Rather Than Canceling

DALLAS — If you've felt like your flights have been delayed rather than canceled altogether this year, you're not alone.

This year, airlines heavily improved network reliability. According to travel tracker site Hopper, this October saw the lowest cancellation rate among U.S. Departures since 2019. In October, 15% of flights were delayed on departure, down 25% during July.

Passenger delays and cancellations came under intense pressure from consumer watchdogs and politicians after a bumpy ramp-up for airlines after the downturn of the COVID-19 pandemic. Airlines in the U.S. Canceled almost 140,000 flights in 2022, the highest number in recent history — except the pandemic-induced cancellations of 2020. A bumpy 2022 came to a crescendo last December, when snowstorms in Denver and Chicago caused thousands of cancellations, a problem so bad that Southwest's network completely fell apart and resulted in nearly 17,000 nixed flights around the Christmas holidays.

"We know how frustrating delays, cancellations and rebookings are," President Joe Biden said during a speech at the White House in May. "While flight delays and cancellations have come down since then, there's still a problem."

The rate of cancellations has dropped this year to 1.62% for data available through September from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, down 41% from the prior year.

Global travel data provider OAG reported Delta Air Lines had an on-time performance of 81.79%, United Airlines had a 79.1% on-time performance, American Airlines had a 77.38% on-time performance and Southwest Airlines had a 71.61% on-time performance in 2022.

At Fort Worth-based American Airlines, the airline reported a record third-quarter completion factor in October, operating over 515,000 flights with an average load factor of 84%. American also had a cancelation rate of 2.67% in 2022, according to OAG.

Jim Moses, senior vice president of DFW Hub Operations at American said the air carrier has a "HEAT" tool, which stands for "Hub Efficiency Analytics Tool."

"This helps us keep our operation on track when there is a disruption outside of our control," Moses said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News last month.

Conditions outside of an airline's control prevent the carrier from operating a schedule on time, he said. It's better to keep the crew with the aircraft and push the schedule back a bit, to make sure everything stays afloat.

"We will delay parts of our operation to allow our crew members to stay intact and cancel less to ensure our customers are getting our customers to their final destination," Moses said.

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines shares the same sentiment. Southwest CEO Bob Jordan told The News the airline is focused on getting passengers to their destination, but called it a "trade-off" with a delay that ultimately gets the passenger there.

"You always make that choice because I think our data would tell us that customers would rather be modestly delayed than have their flight canceled," Jordan told The News in November.

Southwest also had a cancellation rate of 3.17% in 2022, according to OAG.

Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper said the majority of delays are shorter than 15 or 30 minutes, but sometimes it can feel like its longer than what it actually is.

"You're stuck in a little queue with all the other people who want to get on the plane too," Berg said. "Most delays are actually extremely short and then there is a very small tail of delays that that go on forever. From the airline's perspective, their goal is to get their customers to their destination."

'Do Better, American Airlines': Woman Says American Airlines Refused To Refund Her Deceased Son's Ticket

This article includes mention of suicide.

A grieving mother turned to TikTok for help following the death of her son. Jackie (@jackiep628) was excited to have her son and his soon-to-be-five-year-old daughter over for Christmas—she says she purchased tickets with American Airlines to have them come and visit.

Before he could visit, however, tragedy struck—Jackie says her son took his own life. While dealing with the death of her child, Jackie says she turned to things that she could control in her life, which included getting a refund for his ticket.

The response she received from American Airlines after she sent them his death certificate to prove he wouldn't be able to make the flight was one she says was devoid of humanity. It left her searching for answers from other members of the TikTok community, who sympathized with her plight and helped take action.

"American Airlines won't refund my deceased son tix," Jackie writes in a text overlay of her video as she directly addresses the camera.

"So I email American Airlines with his death certificate requesting refunds for his round trip his two tickets to and from, from Tampa to Philly. And for his one-way daughter to get from Tampa to Philly," she explains.

"What they send me back in response: 'We're sorry your travel plans didn't work out. You purchased a basic economy fare. Blah. Blah. Blah.' They're not gonna refund me because my son's travel plans didn't work out. Wow. Do better American Airlines. Do better, will ya?" she says, crying into the camera.

Viewers expressed their horror with the airline's response to Jackie's refund request. One person wrote, "OMG American Airlines should be ashamed of themselves! It's not like you want your money back just because! I am so sorry you have to go through this."

Another remarked that the problem seemed to be linked to the fact that American Airlines was implementing what seemed to be an automated system for sending out the email. The commenter wrote to Jackie that they endured a similar ordeal and were ultimately able to solve their issue.

"You have to call and speak to a human," they advised. "Happened to me when my husband passed. They will refund you."

However, another user seemed to side with the airline's no refund policy on basic economy tickets, writing, "I understand ur pain; however, the ticket purchase was not situational it was nonrefundable. Sorry."

Jackie posted a follow-up video where she says that American Airlines ultimately came through and honored her refund request. She says that the company apologized and called the initial correspondence she was sent an "incorrect email." J

Jackie would go on to thank someone on TikTok for getting her through to the correct department at American Airlines along with the crowds of other folks on the platform who sympathized with her.

She took the time to respond to people who she says left "nasty messages" about the tickets not being refundable being her "own fault." Jackie responded that her attempt at securing the refund from American Airlines was a means of her looking for anything she could control in the wake of her son's passing as a coping mechanism of sorts.

Jackie says what ultimately made her upset about the message she received from American Airlines had less to do with the fact that she lost out on the money, but more to do with an utter lack of humanity.

@jackiep628 #AmericanAirlines ♬ original sound – JackieP628

"No parent thinks they're gonna have to send their child's death certificate to somebody," she says in the video. While she says she had no interest in becoming a "TikToker," her first instinct was to go to social media to try and find a way for anybody to help her out.

Some folks encouraged Jackie to talk about her son online, like an online, free-form eulogy so folks could get to know him better, which she obliged in a recent clip.

Jackie's case appears to be one of many grievances customers are having with airline companies as of late. Axios reports that overall customer satisfaction with airlines has plummeted in recent years: it dipped 22 points from 2020 to 2021, and another 7 points from 2021 to 2022, indicating a recurring downward spiral.

The Daily Dot has reached out to American Airlines via email and Jackie via TikTok comment for further information.

*First Published: Dec 22, 2023, 5:00 pm CST

Jack Alban

Jack Alban is a freelance journalist for the Daily Dot covering trending human interest/social media stories and the reactions real people have to them. He always seeks to incorporate evidence-based studies, current events, and facts pertinent to these stories to create your not-so-average viral post.

This Budget Airline Is Offering 50 Percent Off Flights To Europe For Next Year

Budget airline Play Airlines is offering travelers an irresistible deal to ring in the New Year, but only for a very limited time. Play is offering half-priced flights to Europe from several major U.S. Hubs if you book through Saturday, December 30, with deals starting at just $293. The Points Guy reported the deal.

The Icelandic carrier is offering trips from Boston, Washington, and New York to Reykjavik, London, Dublin, Paris, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. Currently, the dates on offer range from January through May and September through October of 2024. Itineraries can be booked directly with Play Airlines, and must be complete by 11:59 pm on December 30. All Play flights leaving the U.S. Will be routed through Keflavik International Airport in Iceland.

Prices vary based on the route, and Play doesn't guarantee they won't fluctuate. At the time of publication, the airline was offering flights from Boston to Reykjavik starting at $180, and New York to Paris starting at $344. All of the deals are advertised with Play's "basic" fare, which only allows you one small "personal item" that fits beneath the seat in front of you. A full-sized carry-on will cost you an additional $43, while a checked bag runs $51.

For an additional fee, you can upgrade to the "value" fare, which allows travelers a checked bag and a carry-on in addition to their personal item. It also guarantees priority boarding and allows advance seat selection for all seats in the middle or back of the plane. "Flex," the top-tier ticket, allows you a slightly heavier checked bag and seat selection anywhere in the plane, excluding extra-large seats. You can check out Play's full list of baggage and cancellation fees here.

Play Airlines is an off-shoot of the defunct Wow Air, which similarly offered discounted flights from America to Europe through Iceland. Wow operated from 2012 until 2019, the same year executives announced Play, then known as WAB (We Are Back) Airlines. Service began between Iceland to Europe in 2021, with American destinations added in 2022.

You can book your Play Airlines itinerary here.

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