Top 2 Ways the Best Airlines Handle Weather-Related Delays

Weather-related delays aren’t fun for anybody. While flyers complain the most, we know that airlines feel the pain too. Any type of delay means a loss of time, revenue, and customer satisfaction. Let’s dive into the top 2 ways the best airlines handle weather-related delays.

1. Communicate with Customers

The communication between an airline and its customers is key in any situation. Let’s face is: As hard as your try to make it be enjoyable, flying just isn’t a fun experience for most people. The act of traveling isn’t fun in general. They must pack, get to the airport, get through security, and then sit around all for some guy at the gate to tell them their flight is delayed due to some wind. It definitely isn’t fun for them.

So how do the best airlines deal with this unfortunate event? By offering a two-way street of communication between airline representatives and the customers. These representatives need a lot of training to deal with the upset and angry customers who are delayed. Most of all, they need to listen to flyers’ concerns and treat them with respect.

Offering free hotel stays, free flight changes, and other complimentary services are the best ways to keep delayed customers happy and loyal.

2. Get Alerts for Weather-Related Delays

One of the best things an airline or airport can do is use the latest weather alerting solutions. Knowing what type of severe weather conditions will be present and when are critical to handling delays effectively. And we don’t have to tell you just how common weather-related delays and cancellations are.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, 69% of all aviation delays are due to weather. That’s more than half. If you’re not prepared with the right tools for more than half of your delays, you’re probably going to be in a lot of trouble. This is especially true if your airline operates in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Atlanta. These five major areas are the top five airports with the worst weather-related delays year after year.

If your airline doesn’t operate in those areas, you still need to worry about weather-related delays. They’re also one of the easiest to explain to customers, especially if you have a way to show them the weather conditions you’re cancelling for.

The National Transportation Safety Bureau and Weather-Related Safety

In a recent safety memo to the FAA, the NTSB analyzed several mid-air incidents that could have been prevented with the use of long-range lightning detection. In particular, the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network. Damage and delays due to mid-air incidents cause a lot of problems on the ground for airlines.

Not only can airlines benefit from using this weather monitoring system, but air traffic control and airports can as well. That means less delays and a way to easily show why the delays are occurring. Sounds like a win-win to us.