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This is what travel chaos could look like this summer |
A chaotic UK: Thousands of passengers have been stuck in queues at Manchester Airport in the UK.
(Ryan Jenkinson/Story Picture Age/Shutterstock) →
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Great British Disaster: BA, the UK's flag carrier, has been hit disastrously.
(Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
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EasyJet is canceling dozens of flights a day in the UK.
(Fabrizio Gandolfo/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images)
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Feeling sad: In the United States, JetBlue has been hit hard.
(Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)
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Long, hot summer lines: Even Germany is seeing endless lines when people travel for Easter.
(Boris Roessler/picture alliance/Getty Images)
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Cancellation Culture: Canceled flights appear regularly on departure boards.
(Ted Warren/AP)
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Being alone: Catastrophic staff shortages lead to scenes like this, where an easyJet staff member checks in hundreds of passengers.
(Ryan Jenkinson/Story Picture Agency/Shutterstock)
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Endless: The lines don't end when you board the plane.
They start over at baggage claim.
(Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Stand in line: Experts recommend getting to your flight early, or risk missing it.
(Christoph Soeder/picture-alliance/dpa/AP)
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Meanwhile Down Under: The queues in Sydney for Easter travel are just as long.
(Bianca De Marchi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
(CNN) --
It's time!
Travel restrictions are easing, infection rates are leveling off, you're fully vaccinated, and you're finally about to go on vacation.
This is the year to make up for the vacations you missed in the last two years.
You've probably saved for two years for them to be good.
At last the time has come.
Or not?
While you may have everything in order, the same cannot be said for the entire travel industry.
Not only are there ever-changing rules about testing, vaccinations, and quarantines that need to be adhered to when traveling, but once the issue is resolved, getting to your destination seems to be fraught with difficulties.
At the top of the chaos board?
The aviation.
The sector was, of course, decimated by the pandemic, but many airlines and airports currently seem unable to cope with the resurgence of travel.
Countries on both sides of the Atlantic are seeing large numbers of canceled flights due to crew shortages, long lines at airports due to understaffing, and the kind of rental car fees that make buying a vehicle seem cheap.
That's partly because everyone has the same idea as you: Just this week, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian announced that March 2022 had been the airline's best sales month in his story.
Faced with unprecedented demand, the much-reduced industry is struggling to cope.
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He tests positive for covid-19 on a plane.
This is how he isolated himself 2:28
In the United States, things have been brewing for the past year, as domestic travel has taken off again.
Meanwhile, in the UK, chaos at major airports has been in the news every day for the past two weeks, with the national carrier, British Airways, being sued by the industry regulator for possible breaches of the law.
The flying experience may be more seamless elsewhere in Europe, but car rental is not.
A bubble car can cost you more than your hotel, and that's before you factor in skyrocketing gas prices.
Are you traveling within the United States?
Carmageddon is hitting just as hard.
Welcome to a summer of chaos?
Let's hope not, but industry figures fear so.
a summer of chaos
Endless queues at Frankfurt airport.
Boris Roessler/picture alliance/Getty Images
"I think it's a preview of things to come, and I think things are going to get worse," says consumer advocate Christopher Elliott, who has been monitoring the situation in the United States and Europe.
"Summer will be chaos," he believes, to the point of advising his followers to avoid Europe in August, the peak of the high season.
That aerial chaos?
He blames it directly on the airlines.
“I think we have seen some delays related to the pandemic, but I think at this point they are already included in the equation;
I don't think that's really a legitimate excuse,” she says.
"It's everyone's fault except themselves. If they looked in the mirror, they would realize that during the pandemic they cut and laid off staff, and now the demand is back and they're caught by surprise. They haven't been able to staff staffing quickly enough to meet demand.
Elliott, the founder of the nonprofit Elliott Advocacy, also doesn't have much time for the oft-cited "glitches."
"Airlines in the United States use outdated legacy systems that are in desperate need of an upgrade. They haven't been upgraded like they should. When they fail, they cause mass cancellations," he says.
On the other side of the pond, technical problems — blamed for mass cancellations in the United States since last year — have also hit British Airways, the UK's flag carrier.
On February 26, a "systems outage" forced the airline to suspend all short-haul flights.
It was the second IT failure in 10 days and followed similar problems in 2017 and 2018.
But that was the least of the UK's problems.
Since then, hundreds of thousands of travelers have seen their flights delayed, cancelled, or simply missed due to the chaos engulfing some of the UK's major airports.
Thousands are affected by canceled flights in Florida 2:15
Heathrow and Manchester airports have rarely been out of the news since late March, as severe staff shortages led to hours-long queues at check-in, security and passport control.
And the lack of staff also means people wait hours for their luggage to arrive.
Anarchy (aerial) in the United Kingdom
British Airways' hub at Heathrow Terminal 5 has been particularly hard hit.
(Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Photos of endless queues and piles of luggage - often abandoned after customers tire of waiting for hours - have dominated the British press.
And the chaos only gets worse.
Stansted Airport, the hub of low-cost airline Ryanair on the outskirts of London, on Thursday advised passengers traveling over the Easter holidays to drop off their luggage 24 hours before their flight.
Ryanair at least isn't canceling flights.
The two airlines currently doing so in the UK are easyJet and British Airways.
Both have suffered unprecedented staff shortages since the end of the month, leading to dozens of flight cancellations every day.
It may or may not be a coincidence that they both eliminated mask requirements on board in mid-March.
Enrico Ferro, from Padua, Italy, flew to London with British Airways for a four-day vacation with his wife and son on March 30.
Upon arrival, they spent three hours waiting for his luggage to arrive at Heathrow.
"We spent the first day of our vacation at the airport," he tells CNN.
Things got worse when he returned.
Their flight back to Venice was canceled when they were already at the gate.
They ended up on a flight to Bologna, which arrived at midnight.
Ferro's father had to pick up his car at the Venice airport, and drive two hours to pick them up and take them home first thing in the morning.
Who to blame for the chaos of airline cancellations
Ferro says BA staff never told him he was due compensation.
He says that he will "never" fly the airline again.
"I chose BA over low-cost carriers because I was sure the services for travelers were better," he says.
"I found that this is no longer the case."
On April 14, the UK consumer organization Which?
wrote to the Civil Aviation Authority, saying they had evidence from customers that BA was not informing them of their rights regarding flight cancellations and delays.
Rory Boland, editor of Which?
Travel, said in a statement: "Our investigation found that British Airways neglected to inform passengers of their right to compensation and left families destitute by failing to redirect them."
British Airways did not respond to a CNN request for comment, but told Which?
Travel in a statement: "We always comply with our legal obligations."
Boland told CNN that the current chaos in the UK is, according to him, "worse than in many other countries."
A lack of staff has led to situations like this in the UK, where an easyJet check-in agent is on duty while thousands of passengers queue in Manchester.
(Ryan Jenkinson/Story Picture Agency/Shutterstock)
"There is a longer-term problem around staff employment, and that is difficult to overcome, especially for travel companies that pay low wages."
“I have been in contact with some [aviation workers] who were laid off during the pandemic.
They were offered to come back with worse pay and worse conditions, and they say: 'I really don't want to, I have a better job.'
Unless airports and airlines increase their supply, they will take a long time to increase the workforce."
Brexit is, of course, a known divisive issue in the UK and many who opposed it attribute the country's current problems to the UK's exit from the EU.
Traveling to the United States during covid-19: requirements, vaccines and what you need to know
But when it comes to the current airport chaos, there is a tangible link, says Kully Sandhu, managing director of the Aviation Recruitment Network, which staffs the industry in the UK.
“We used to get 50% to 60% of our applications from EU citizens for our positions at London airport,” he says.
"Not having this European workforce has not only caused problems with recruitment, it also means that airports have fewer employees who can speak a European language. This was a huge benefit and not having that facility can affect the time it takes you passengers passing through an airport".
Sandhu also blames travel restrictions, which have led employers to use staff "when they are needed" instead of giving them regular work, driving more and more people out of the sector.
In a nutshell?
"Airport staff found more stable and financially lucrative opportunities and decided not to go back to work in such a volatile market," he says.
Sandhu predicts it will take "up to 12 months" for airport staffing levels to return to pre-pandemic levels in the UK.
Meanwhile, Lucy Moreton, general secretary of the Immigration Services Union (ISU), told the BBC that the Border Force - which controls people entering the UK - is "catastrophically lacking". of personal".
The government has blamed the problems on the increase in travelers during Holy Week.
With reports of physical fights, passengers passing out in queues and thousands of travelers canceling their flights every day, many will decide to freeze that post-pandemic trip to London.
Meanwhile, in the United States
Not everyone is so pessimistic.
We need to keep perspective, says Courtney Miller, managing director of research at The Air Current.
For starters, he says, after two months of restrictions "We can go out and fly."
But he admits that, particularly in the United States, the experience "sucks: It's more expensive and more complicated with the possibility of being delayed or cancelled."
The problem is?
"Things are going very well, too well, and we are struggling to catch up."
Miller says the sudden uptick in the US domestic market last summer saw demand up to 70% of pre-pandemic levels, and airlines simply didn't have the infrastructure to respond.
“We had a number of airlines fail,” he says, adding that more than 5,000 pilots left (or were asked to leave) the industry in 2020, and new ones aren't coming in fast enough.
More than 3,500 flights canceled by a winter storm that hits the east coast of the United States
While demand stagnated during the omicron outbreak, it's now back with a vengeance, at around 90% of 2019 levels, he says, and airlines just can't keep up.
"We're seeing mass cancellations again, and airlines are cutting schedules. Fares are through the roof, and people like to talk about [the price of] oil, but that's not it. The problem is that we have more people than they want to fly what seats," he says.
Miller has more sympathy, or perhaps understanding, for airlines than most.
We need to realize the magnitude of what they have gone through, he says: "98% of his business disintegrated."
By comparison, the much talked about devastation caused by 9/11?
It reduced the industry by just 10%.
When an industry is down to the bone, he says, an unexpected problem, like the storms in Florida last weekend, in which JetBlue and Spirit grounded their flights, "really hits."
US airlines are now reducing their summer schedules - in other words, canceling flights - in an attempt to ameliorate the problem.
For this reason, Miller recommends reserving as soon as possible, so that you are already in the system in case the cuts arrive.
“If they cancel my flight, they have to find me a new flight;
if I wait, the risk is mine,” she says.
"Just book now."
Not in America and feeling cocky?
Bad news: He says the US is a year ahead of other Western tourism sectors.
"We can look at Western economies and say we expect a similar magnitude as we go into the peak season," he says.
"European markets haven't gone through that extreme shortage yet, but this summer is going to be very, very revealing as passengers come back."
"I wanted to rent the car, not buy it"
Americans are ready to travel again, says Kerby.
(Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)
Because the passengers return, despite the chaos.
"I think it's endemic to the human spirit to go out and see things," says Zane Kerby, president of the American Society of Travel Advisors.
He should know: He was quarantined for five days in the Caribbean last year, sharing a room with his children as they listened to people having the time of their lives outside.
And on March 31, he spent two hours queuing to check in for his British Airways flight from Heathrow.
He believes it will take "months, not weeks" for things to work out better.
And yet, all he wants to do is get back on the road.
For Kerby, the main sticking point is the uneven way in which travel restrictions are imposed and lifted around the world, and in particular the requirement to take the test before returning to the United States, which he says , is causing psychological chaos and discouraging people from traveling.
For those who conquer that barrier, he says now is the time to book through a travel advisor.
"The landscape changes all the time, the rules and requirements too. You need someone who can not only take care of you, but can also anticipate things that can go wrong, and help you re-book and find accommodation if they do go wrong, particularly for international travel," he says.
He warns that booking your flight is not enough this year and points to the car rental situation as another important flash point.
"It could be worse than last year," he warns.
"There are popular destinations in the United States, Honolulu, LA, South Florida, where prices have skyrocketed to unbelievable levels."
Last year, he was asked $3,200 for a week's rental in Hawaii.
"I didn't want to buy the car, just rent it," he says.
We need to talk about rental cars
Kerby recently received a $3,000 quote for a week's car rental in Hawaii.
(Pgiam/iStock Unreleased/Getty Images)
So you have reached your destination.
You're in luck: your bags have also arrived.
But it's not over, now you have to take the risk of rental cars.
The "carmageddon" of 2021 (soaring prices caused by intense demand and a lack of cars) has not been resolved.
The supply chain crisis still means a global shortage of new cars being made, meaning rental companies are still struggling to fill their fleets.
Plus, there's still nervousness around the pandemic, says Phil Partridge of Rhino Car Hire.
"Car rental agents are hesitant to fully restock fleets for fear another variant wreaks havoc on the travel industry," he says.
"That, coupled with physical limitations on how many cars they can purchase to replenish fleets...it's essentially a supply and demand situation again where demand outstrips supply, which inevitably leads to price increases."
It didn't used to be this way: high availability meant that car rental prices rarely saw the same holiday increases as flights.
But he sees this as the new normal, at least for now.
There may be some hope.
Staff members at a major Italian rental company informally told CNN Travel this week that prices should drop after Easter before shooting up again in late June, and Partridge agrees.
"Outside the school holidays, we expect prices to come down, although not to pre-pandemic levels," he says.
So how do you beat the system?
Partridge suggests looking "outside the airport": a location in the city center or at a train station can be significantly cheaper, even after deducting the taxi you might take to get there.
More important?
Reserve your car as soon as possible, everyone agrees.
Partridge says he suggests booking 8 to 24 weeks in advance to get the best deals.
"Insure a car as early as possible and check rates regularly before your rental," he advises.
"You can always cancel and rebook at a lower rate if prices go down, but you can't turn back the clock and book the rate you saw months before."
Reserving an electric car will save money on fuel when costs are at their highest, he suggests, and check out employee discounts you may be eligible for through your job.
"We have the infrastructure, but it will take time"
Remember that airline staff are underpaid and work long hours.
(Etienne Laurent/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
When faced with the chaos of travel, remember that the people facing you are likely underpaid and will have quit working 9-5 to go into the business.
“Working in the travel industry often means working antisocial hours, especially at an airport,” says George Morgan-Grenville, founder of luxury tour operator Red Savannah, who has come from a “catastrophic” pandemic to the best year they have Dyed.
For him, as for Boland, aviation must offer better conditions.
"You have to make the conditions attractive enough for people to have a good family life, earn a decent salary and do the job."
But he, more than the others, is hopeful that things will turn around.
"Everyone who didn't travel in the pandemic now wants to, we've gone from zero to 60 in months," he says.
"For any company, dealing with that increase is going to be a test."
"We had the capacity: world-class airports and infrastructure. But it's going to take time and the airports are going to have to do very attractive jobs."
He also believes that we may be pleasantly surprised when the weather improves and covid-19 infections are expected to drop.
Lowering rates won't bring in new staff, of course, but it will help decrease staff sickness data.
How to handle travel chaos
So what should we do to avoid chaos?
Book in advance, all our experts agree.
But there is more:
know your rights
In the US, if an airline cancels your flight, they are obliged to find another way to get you to your destination, although there is no time limit for this.
En la UE y el Reino Unido (que copió y pegó la ley de la UE sobre viajes después del Brexit), las aerolíneas deben redirigir a los pasajeros a su destino final "en la mayor brevedad posible". Eso significa que deben reservarte en una aerolínea rival (o tren, u otra forma de transporte) si no pueden acomodarte ellos mismos. Aunque, si pueden llevarte el mismo día, pueden optar por esa opción, aunque sea un vuelo mucho más tarde.
Si te quedas tirado durante la noche, la aerolínea debe pagarte una habitación de hotel, así como las comidas por los retrasos. También puedes reclamar el transporte por tierra, si te llevan a otro destino.
Si tu vuelo fue cancelado con menos de dos semanas de antelación, también deben pagarte una indemnización de entre 250 y 600 euros (entre US$ 270 y 649), según la distancia del vuelo.
Estas normas se aplican a todos los vuelos con origen o destino en la UE o el Reino Unido. No canceles tu reserva o tu reclamación no será válida.
Reservar un coche a través de un intermediario
Boland dice que su investigación en Which? Travel muestra que es "mucho más barato reservar a través de un intermediario". Asegúrate de que sea uno que incluya empresas pequeñas e independientes de alquiler de coches, ya que es probable que sean las que ofrezcan la mejor relación calidad-precio este año. Así lo sugiere Zest.
Elige bien tu aerolínea
Miller dice que la mayoría de las aerolíneas estadounidenses están en dificultades en este momento, pero cuando se trata de Europa, como dice Boland, compañías como Ryanair, Wizz y Jet2 no están cancelando vuelos. British Airways y easyJet sí.
Volar entre semana
Mientras que el mercado de ocio de EE. UU. está en plena efervescencia, dice Miller, los viajes de negocios no han alcanzado su nivel, aunque lo están consiguiendo. Esto significa que, por el momento, las tarifas siguen siendo más bajas entre semana.
Grenville-Morgan pasó por Heathrow en un viaje de martes a jueves a Italia la semana pasada. "No pudo ser más sencillo", dice.
Reserva a través de un experto
Esta es una de las ocasiones en las que no es una buena idea hacer las cosas uno mismo. Que un tercero se encargue de su reserva le quita el estrés. Ellos sabrán cuáles son las normas de entrada a su destino, qué hoteles están disponibles y, si tu vuelo se cancela, pueden volver a reservarlo mientras todos los demás hacen una cola de 200 personas en la puerta de embarque.
"La gente trabaja 50 semanas al año para poder ir a algún sitio", dice Kerby. "Reservar con un asesor de viajes te permite sentarte y disfrutar de tus vacaciones en lugar de preocuparte por los detalles que pueden hacerte la vida imposible".
Optar por un hotel, no por un alquiler
Boland dice que mientras los precios de los alquileres privados se han disparado, las tarifas de los hoteles se mantienen por ahora; de hecho, en algunos lugares están a precios reducidos, ya que la gente prefiere alojarse en los alquileres.
Ser flexible
Todavía hay ofertas, dice Boland, pero hay que ser flexible para aprovecharlas. ¿Solo quieres un poco de sol o una escapada a la ciudad? Tendrás suerte. Por otro lado, si tienes fijadas las fechas o el destino, reserva cuanto antes.
Elige un país de turistas nacionales
Morgan-Grenville considera que una de las razones por las que el Reino Unido se ha visto tan afectado es que es un país de viajeros empedernidos.
"En un año normal hay 18 millones de británicos que viajan a España, 12 millones a Francia y cuatro millones a Italia, mucho más que los países europeos equivalentes que visitan sus países o el Reino Unido".
Eso significa que el factor caos es alto. Puede que le resulte más fácil elegir un país como Francia o Italia, donde los lugareños se quedan mayoritariamente en casa durante las vacaciones.
Planificar con antelación
Morgan-Grenville says hotels have redeployed staff to cover shortages, so it's possible that restaurant is closed or closing early.
The same goes for the outside world: this year, like no other, you have to plan and book in advance.
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