My job requires me to fly weekly. I arrive at the airport an hour before my flight - to ensure any potential delays in the commute to the airport are dealt with; I check my luggage - to ensure that the shampoo bottle in luggage isn’t a concealed explosive; I wait in line to clear customs (I live in Canada and work in the USA) - to ensure the US government that I’m not entering the country illegally; I take off my shoes, unpack my laptop and clear security checkpoint - to ensure I’m not carrying concealed plane hijacking paraphernalia and take the mile and a half walk to the boarding gate - to discover that my flight has been delayed 3 hours!!

Is it just me? Are there others out there who deal with this sometimes unexplainable phenomenon known as “the flight delay” on a regular basis? I decided to do some research - and to also share the excuses explanations the airlines use.

Turns out - I’m not the only one, here’s a sample of some excuses used on delayed passengers:

• “We didn’t know it was going to be icy, so we never ordered the anti freeze.”

• “Dear passengers, we would like to inform you that there is nothing wrong with the aircraft you are now sitting in. We have been recalled to take documents belonging to another aircraft in our fleet”.

• “I’m sorry, we gave away your seat.”

• We apologise for yesterday’s delays which were the knock-on effect of the sudden unavailability of one of the planes due to a technical problem.” (Say that one three times quickly)

• Delay because of forms having to be signed by captain

• “I once had to wait 1 hour to board a flight because the gate agent was on hold with the airline head office for clearance.”

• “Crew Rest”

• Flight crew didn’t show up for work (This one was in a major US city airline hub).

• “We’re going to have to shut off the power on the plane, so we’re going to have to ask everyone to de-plane”

Based on US Government reports, the first five months of this year have been the worst on record. In June, airline delays were up 18% over last year.

So what can you do?

• Well, for starters, expect a delay of 51 minutes and 27 seconds…this is the current average delay, up 5 minutes from last year.2.

• Take control - Check out www.flightstats.com to see historical performance of airlines and specific flights
• Continue complaining to the airlines who screwed you over.

If you have an airline story you would like to share, please drop us a line or post a comment.

…Oh, as for my 3 hour delay - well it turns out the crew didn’t have their required beauty sleep. My flight was delayed because of “Crew Rest”.

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