Tens of thousands of flights have been canceled as staffing shortages, severe weather, and high demand lead to disruptions across the industry. Tom Hall, Vice President at Lonely Planet, joined Cheddar to give advice on how to travel successfully this summer.

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How To Avoid Summer Travel Headaches

here to give us some tips on how to avoid this travel chaos. Tom Hall. Vice President at Lonely Planet. Thank you so much for joining us here on cheddar first. Got to ask you why are so many flights being delayed or canceled right now? Well, what we're seeing here is the result of a huge upsurge in demand as we've emerged from the pandemic. It doesn't seem like so long ago we were looking forward to a glorious summer of travel. And actually as we've now starting to arrive into that time, what we're seeing is it's maybe a little bit harder than people anticipated to get things back up and running. So yes, you mentioned those staff shortages not just in pilots but also in key areas under the wing as it's called. So ground handlers, security staff, that kind of thing. And we've also seen very high demand at a time when airlines are trying to get everything up and running again. So it's not quick to fill those jobs. It's also not necessarily a smooth process to get things started. So yeah, it has been a bit tricky but that doesn't mean it's impossible and it does also mean it's very much worth the effort when you do get to your destination. So in your mind, I mean there are a number of challenges out there. The first being, as you mentioned, the labor shortage specifically with pilots because it's difficult to fill those positions quickly. There's an enormous amount of training that goes into that position but also the baggage handlers, the airport staff and also in addition to that here domestically in the U. S. We're seeing things like extreme weather, air traffic control constraints. If you had to pinpoint the biggest problem for airlines right now, what role do you think is playing the most into this chaos we talk about. I think it's actually difficult to pin down any one particular one of those and say that's the one. If we reflect back. For instance on the Memorial Day weekend, what we saw there was some extreme weather events compounding these other factors that that we see. America is a very big place to travel around Domestically. There are a huge number of flights moving around and when you put a large number of people into the mix there at a time when we're trying to start everything back up and running again, it is probably to be expected that there are going to be some problems that may be above and beyond what people have seen in the past or indeed what has been reported as being beyond the norm in the past. So I think the good news is that over the last few weeks we have seen airlines getting to grips with some of these situations making both in the U. S. And internationally. Some of these like proactive cancelations of flights quite a long way in advance. The logic being that if they tell passengers away in advance, it minimizes that disruption if their flight is canceled and they can make alternative arrangements, it takes a bit of pressure out the system and it also makes sure that there is sufficient numbers of staff available in the event of there being problems on other flights. Yeah, I'm wondering is there anything on the consumer side that can actually be done to avoid getting your travel plans ruined? I have family members that recently traveled, they got to the airport like four hours early. Um, Anything that you can do proactively with your flights and your trips, I probably wouldn't be arriving four hours early. You you run the risk then just bumping into someone else's cue and standing in that when your own line will be 234 people shorter as a result of it. But technology can be your friend here firstly do download the airport and airline apps that you may have access to. It'll save you a lot of a lot of hassle. You can often see how long security lines are. You'll certainly get information about any delays well in advance. So use that technology and I really hope everybody watching won't have any delays and won't have any long queues. But let's be realistic, it's a big holiday weekend coming up. So to be ready for some of that bring some food, entertainment, snacks for you and for your companions especially if they're small companions. And as hard as it can be if you're traveling as a family for example, do treat it as part of the adventure. And and one other very specific thing is think about your flights when you're traveling your baggage, the lighter you can travel the better if you can avoid having to check a bag. Um and if you can avoid taking a large bag that doesn't just run the risk of being put into the hold, but maybe getting in other people's way you're helping everything to move along a lot smoother. A lot of really good information there. I also I don't want to call out any airlines but are you noticing any specific airlines or even airports at this point that are being particularly hit hard with some of these disruptions? I think it's difficult to actually again look across and to say any one particular one because this is an industry wide problem that we're dealing with and obviously depending on where you are and whether you're loyal to a particular airline, it can be not especially helpful to say, oh, you know that carrier has had delays in in this one place. I think it's a good idea to look at your root actually in the days leading up to where you're traveling. Try to get an idea of where your planes are coming in from where they're coming in to think that can give you an idea of any delays using apps like flight radar that can give you an idea of any patterns that you have that can also drive you slightly mad as well because you're obviously looking at a delay on a day that you're not traveling. But I think to to treat your journey as a single event to follow any advice that you're given by your airline to make sure that you arrive a good amount of time in advance but not too far in advance. They're probably the best thing to do and be prepared for disruption and build some flexibility into your schedule. As a result it seems like because of the increased demand everyone wants to travel this summer and also some of the higher costs. It doesn't appear that there would be a ton of ways to get discounts or cheaper prices on your flights. But do you have any money saving tips for this summer? If people are doing some last minute travel, maybe not to travel. That's been planned for months and months heading into the summer. Um I would be looking down your your sofas and making sure that you put those pandemic era travel vouchers that you may have forgotten about to good use. Um Many of these are still valid through next year but you certainly don't want to forget about them. So make sure that you're using those vouchers because if you have forgotten about them you haven't used them to this point they are an asset that can defray the overall cost of travel. The other thing I'd say is that booking in advance while that's the usual route to getting a good deal. Do bear in mind that the cheaper the booking often the less flexibility that you'll have. So when I think about my own travel this year, I'm looking for the ability to get a good deal, but also to shift my plans around if I need to. And that does tend to mean, for example, not necessarily opting for the for the most basic economy ticket, maybe going one class up and then as a result I do have flexibility if I need to change and that can save me money on other things. Alright, that's Tom Hall Vice President at Lonely Planet. Thank you so much for all of this information. Really, really good tips for all those traveling out there.