Flight Delays

By Tom Morrone, CFP ®, CPA, Principal

At one time or another, those that fly for whatever reason, have experienced a delay in their flight departure time.

What is even worse than a delay is a flight cancellation. Over the years I have had pretty good luck with flights overall so I really can't complain. Actually I would probably go out on a limb and say most of my flights have taken off on or close to the planned departure time and most of my flights have landed ahead of schedule. Not bad at all. Well, all good things seem to come to an end.

This past winter I had several lengthy delays both in CT and in FL. Most were weather related and one in particular was mechanical in nature. The delays that were due to weather were not just snow and ice but also thunderstorms and tornadoes. That type of harsh and volatile weather is not when you want to be 33,000 feet in the air. It is hard not to get upset and frustrated but it is only natural. Regardless of the airline that you choose to fly, the safety of the passengers and crew always comes first and not the timeliness of the flight schedules. We get to our destination whether it be home or away later than expected.....but we get there. Maybe a connecting flight is missed....but we eventually catch another. In the end it all seems to work out. Hopefully the delays are quickly forgotten and do not deter us from flying again.

I write this as I sit in the airport with Cathy in the midst of a 3 plus hour delay due to thunderstorms throughout the southeastern part of the country. Hopefully it will only be 3 hours because the delay has been extended by a half hour every half hour. I know we will eventually get home to CT but I feel bad for Cathy because the airport craziness happened on her birthday. I am certain that this was not what she envisioned on how she would spend her special day.....in an airport. But again we are safe and like I said we will eventually make it back to CT.

So that is the parting thought....flight delays are inevitable the more you fly and the delay is not the important thing to remember but the safety of your arrival. I actually sound like a spokesperson for the airline industry.

Flying safe is better than flying timely. Good thing Buddy was not with us.

Until The Next Tom's Take...