Cancelled Flights

For years my strategy for buying airline tickets has been to buy them when prices are low (this requires great flexibility in travel dates) and the buy them long in advance. I've found flaws in this strategy.

Flying across the Atlantic is only inexpensive if you make looking for cheap flights a hobby. You must have the ability to be flexible about when you will fly, from where you will fly, and to where you will fly. Generally, I find the cheapest flight across the ocean and then buy a separate ticket from that destination to my final destination. Flights in Europe are usually inexpensive, so it matters little where your flight across the Atlantic takes you. This trans-Atlantic flights become the foundation around which I build by wanderings.

Purchasing tickets from the USA to Europe, even long in advance, is generally safe. Both the USA and the EU provide many legal protections to passengers. Airlines are obliged to bring you to your destination, even if that means rescheduling you on another airline. The same is not true with flights between non-EU countries within Europe.

Only once has an airline cancelled by transatlantic flight. Norwegian Airlines canceled a very inexpensive flight from Boston to Dublin. Norwegian had little choice in the matter as the make of aircraft they assigned to the flight had been grounded (a Boeing 737-MAX with shitty software outsourced to India). Unfortunately for me, I had purchased non-refundable onward tickets from Dublin to a destination in Asia and this cancellation made it impossible to utilize those tickets, leaving me with a loss of several hundred dollars. I had to purchase new tickets across the Atlantic at a much larger expense. I learned my lesson on that one.

The worst experiences I've had have been with Priceline.com. A flight I purchased long in advance from Lisbon to the Azores had been rescheduled. Neither the airlines nor Priceline informed me of the change. When I reached the airport 3 hours in advance of my scheduled departure time, I discovered that the flight was already boarded and ready to go. Kindly, the airline (not Priceline) scheduled me on the next flight, but it ruined my plans for that day.

In the last month, 3 out of 4 flights I've purchased on Priceline have been cancelled, leading me to wonder whether Priceline sells flights that do not exist. In the first instance, a flight from Spain to the Republic of Georgia was cancelled without notification. Priceline even sent me a "time to check in" email for the non-existent flight. When I arrived at the airport to check in, the flight was not listed on the monitor. I called Georgian Airlines and they said the flight had been cancelled long before. I had to purchase a new ticket on a new airline on the spot, costing me hundreds. I still haven't received a refund from Priceline.

Next, a flight from Kiev to Odessa was cancelled. Fortunately, the airline, NOT PRICELINE, informed me of the cancellation and rescheduled me on a later flight. A few days later, a flight from Odessa to Sofia, Bulgaria was cancelled. Priceline notified me, but also stated that no other flights were available. I still have not received a refund on that cancelled flight. I had to purchase another flight, through Turkey, to Bulgaria. Such a flight was available, but Priceline claimed it was not.

My current strategy is to not use Priceline or third parties as ticket brokers. I buy directly from the airlines. I may use a site like Priceline to list possible flights, but I go directly to the airline's website to purchase the flight. Priceline is an unreliable broker.

Additionally, I generally trust that flights within the USA and flights within the EU will be managed faithfully by airlines and responsibly when cancelled. I generally distrust airlines within post-Soviet countries, though I often have little choice but to utilize their services. As a consequence, I am still willing to book flights within the EU and within the USA long in advance, but I am not willing to purchase flights within post-Soviet countries long in advance. The higher cost of tickets purchased shortly before departure is outweighed by the frustration and other wastes associated with purchasing tickets in advance that will likely be cancelled. Examples of associated wastes are the booking of lodging that will be unoccupied because the airline did not come through with its promises and the purchase of lodging in locations where the travel did not expect to stay, due to rescheduling.

In short, buy transatlantic flights in advance, feel confident about advanced purchase of flights within zones where the rule of law is reliable, and avoid advanced purchases in areas where the rule of law is unreliable.