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Those airlines are long dead now, and so are inter-airline agreements that allowed competing domestic carriers to seamlessly accommodate customers when glitches arose. It was easier because there was so much slack in the system. Today Rule 240 clearly establishes the airlines' lack of responsibility. If you read Delta's contract of carriage, it specifically states that Delta's published schedules are not guaranteed and form no part of the contract. Federal law gives airlines the right to cancel or delay flights with impunity, according to Adam Anolik of Anolik Law Group, a travel-law practitioner. Only when a delay or cancellation is within the carrier's control can you qualify for compensation--at its discretion. So if the Cancellator nails you during a summer thunderstorm or a polar vortex, don't take it personally. And don't expect a free hotel room.
For passengers navigating this new world, it pays to stay informed and flexible. Airline and travel apps such as Kayak, TripCase and FlightAware allow you to log in your flight number and get updates when delays or cancellations occur. Anolik advises his clients to consider travel insurance, depending on the value of a trip and how much money is at stake--for instance, a cruise or prepaid hotel rooms.
Lynn Kirby, a travel agent from Oklahoma City who was delayed in Newark recently, knows the experience all too well. When her flight to Houston was canceled, she promptly rebooked, but she wasn't taking anything for granted. "I try to be proactive for myself and my clients as well," she says. "It helps to think ahead and have a Plan B if a flight is delayed or it's canceled. I was looking for hotels in Houston for tonight. I have a room on hold just in case this flight is delayed and I miss the rest of my connection."
Good advice that, because as every frequent flyer now knows, in a world where flights are tightly scheduled, where planes are chock-full, there are going to be days when you can't win. Such was the case the day after I'd observed the American command center in action. At 3:31 a.m., a text-message alert jarred me awake in my Dallas hotel room. It was from American. My flight had been scratched because of weather. The Cancellator got me.
--With reporting by Sam Frizell/New York