Episode 70: A Delay is Not a Denial

10Jan 2022 by EJtheTravelDiva

Welcome to 2022!

’m sure many of you are familiar with the message of “a delay is not a denial.” Today, I’m putting it into the context of travel.

A delayed flight is not the end of a vacation. Even a cancelled flight doesn’t have to cancel your trip.

Most of you probably know that I recently travelled to Costa Rica, and on the way there, my flight was cancelled.

I could’ve cancelled my entire trip and gone home, but I decided to take it as a slight delay to the start of what ended up being a great vacation.

Here we go:

[03:16] Delay or cancel?

With my flight cancelled, I had to stand in a line longer than the flight to Costa Rica to have it rebooked. It was the kind of line that made the people behind me decide to cancel their trip rather than go through all the effort to rebook.

The people in front of me decided to look at it as an opportunity to spend the night in Miami while they waited for their new flight the next day.

I decided to go with the delay and stay in Miami for a day rather than cancel my whole trip.

If you find yourself in this situation, call your travel agent.

[06:52] A delay is not a denial.

My pastor always said, “a delay is not a denial.”

If you have to delay your vacation by one day, that doesn’t mean that you’re denying yourself a vacation. It just means you’ll start the fun a little bit later than you would have.

It’s a hurdle, not a loss. If you try to get past the hurdle, you don’t lose anything except a little bit of time.

[08:06] Manage your expectations.

It’s 2022. The pandemic wasn’t left behind in 2020.

If your expectations are that travel is back to normal, you’re setting yourself up for disappointments.

I spoke about this in Episode 66.

There are going to be delays, but how you react to those delays is important. Don’t give up because of a slight inconvenience.

Have you tried all the possible solutions? If not, you have no reason to give up.

[09:44] Call your travel insurance company.

If your flight is delayed, your travel insurance company can help rebook your flight for you.

Let them know if you’re staying the night before your next flight, and you can claim reimbursements for essential clothing, toiletries, etc.

Delayed and cancelled flights are usually covered by your travel insurance.

[10:35] Call your travel agent.

Like I said, if you’re standing in that long line, call your travel agent and they can do all of that rebooking and planning for you.

Travel agents can make magic happen. All you need to do is stay calm and ask for help.

[11:05] Know your airline’s partners.

If your airline’s flights are cancelled or you need to get to your destination urgently, knowing your airline’s partners is incredibly important.

Instead of looking for flights from just your airline, you could be finding flights for rebooking with a partner airline to get you to your destination on time.

[12:01] Have a pleasant voice and be positive.

This is probably the most important thing before even starting your rebooking process.

Your flight is cancelled. You’re frustrated. I get it.

When you’re on the phone with your travel agent and they’re scrambling to get you to your fun vacation as fast as possible, having a pleasant voice and being positive will make your whole experience so much better, and they will want to go the extra mile for you.

If you have an attitude on the phone, I know I don’t want to give you my 100% trying to help you out of your situation.

[13:55] Make the best of it.

If you’re delayed and spending a day in a great destination, go out and have some fun and make the most of the destination.

If the destination doesn’t seem that great, you can still make the most of it and have a good time.

Ultimately, you are responsible for your own happiness regardless of where you are. I spoke about this in Episode 65.

[15:14] Avoid checking in your luggage.

If you can pack light, you automatically become more flexible because you don’t need to worry about luggage when rebooking a flight.

If your rebooked flight was in 30 minutes, you could just catch the flight with the bags on your back and be on your way to your vacation.

Having many bags to find and collect can complicate the rebooking process and slow you down.

I’d recommend traveling with at least one outfit and essential toiletries in your carry-on if you do have checked luggage and your flight is delayed.

[17:20] Don’t let it ruin your journey.

So, your flight got delayed or cancelled.

Don’t let it ruin your entire trip.

My flight was cancelled, but I still had a night in Miami, and the rest of my Costa Rica trip was still there waiting for me the next day.

[18:08] Minimize the chances of delays.

If you can travel as early as possible in the morning, on less busy days such as Tuesdays or Wednesdays, and with as many non-stop flights as possible, you can minimize the chances of delays.

Flights get delayed. Sometimes, they get cancelled. No matter how perfect your planning skills are, these things happen.

You need to keep calm, make the best of it, and choose delay over denial.

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