TripTips 1: Just For Starters:

Delay, Cancellation Rigors and Rigamarole:

What with all this airline schedule and capacity trimming, plus the latest COVID/Omicron variant surging among airline crews and staffers, flights by the thousands are and will continue to be delayed or outright cancelled, domestically and world wide:

• So, by federal D.O.T. law, if its flight is ‘significantly’ delayed—and a waylayed passenger elects not to travel at all— an airline must fully refund his/her fare paid (thumb rule: 2 hours+ but best to check the carrier’s contract of carriage (CofC) for its specifics).
•  Should you choose to travel on, however, no such federal law applies. You will usually be placed on the next flight with available seating, but ascertain that it comes at your original fare. If the delay is caused by a mechanical or staffing issue, the airline may cough up compensation, although not necessarily if due to an ‘act of God’ (bad weather, etc.) wherein you may be on your own. JetBlue, for one, may offer $50-$100 if it departs within one hour of scheduled time; $50-$200 compensation should its flight be delayed 3-4 hours.
• Keep in mind that “Next Available Flight” parameters may be governed by an airline’s algorithms factoring in fare paid, whether in miles vs. dollars, class/loyalty status, etc. So counter strategies such as later original booking and back-up booking of fully refundable ticket(s) on a concurrent airline may be ‘pick best’ remedial options worth exploring. 
• Again, pore over the carrier’s CofC, and consult with its gate agents/staffers for options and particulars, but prepare to find lengthy waitlines, or long customer service call stalls (up to 12 hour, although airlines contend they are C-S staffing up and trimming those phone times). Moreover, it you’ve booked through one of the swamp of online travel sites, you’ll have to contact it instead, as the carrier likely will not prioritize dealing with you.

Flight cancellations are another matter/story:

• Firstly, if your flight is cancelled outright with less than two weeks notice, an airline is on the hook for $270-$649 in compensation, depending upon the ticket’s distance.
• If a domestic US flight is scrubbed on your actual travel day—even due to bad weather—the airline must provide you a full refund, or another route to your ticketed destination with all due dispatch—but there are no specific (i.e., federal) time parameters/limits here. Again, ascertain that the replacement seat comes at your original fare.
• The carrier may find seating on the ‘next available’ of its flights or with another airline, mainly via text or email notification: Here is where booking directly with the carrier’s website and researching its interline/co-terminal partnership arrangements for choice alternative flights can come in handy.
• Meanwhile the EU stipulates an ‘earliest opportunity’ replacement; although if on the same day, it could be a much later flight on the original or rival airline—even a train or other mode.
• Should you find yourself routed to a different US destination, expect coverage for any ground transportation. If stranded overnight, the airline is expected to spring for hotel rooms and meals.
• Carriers typically offer travel vouchers or credits good for a year in lieu of a full refund, but there’s nothing like cold, hard cash at the counter.
• In any case, even if you happen to alter your travel plans and cancel your booking, such compensation claims will be invalid, and change fees will likely be incurred.
• Incidentally, advertised policies of “no change fees, ever!”—say, by United Airlines—will not apply to nonrefundable, basic economy tickets: so brace for a fine print, WTF?!

< Go or Woe?