From all the friends and family getting stuck – missing flights – missing cruises – and on and on. This seemed like a disastrous travel season to book a trip anywhere. Now my fears have been validated by this report just sent to me by the travel insurance experts at Forbes Advisor. They decided to find out exactly how airline chaos has impacted travelers this summer.
Check out these highlights from their report:
We surveyed 2,000 travelers and found that 61% experienced a flight delay or cancellation this summer, and as a result, 83% lost money spent on prepaid hotel rooms, cruises and other activities.
Overall, summer travelers lost an average of $838 – more than double the national average cost of a domestic flight, and 17% missed milestone events, such as weddings, graduations and family reunions.
Lost and delayed luggage was another common travel snafu. 48% of respondents said their bags were lost or delayed while traveling, and 44% said their luggage was damaged when returned to them.
See what else we found in the full report.
Top ways that travel chaos upended summer travel plans:
- Travelers that experienced baggage delays were without their luggage for an average of four days, and 11% never received their suitcases.
- Travelers spent an average of $556 to replace the contents of their lost or delayed luggage.
- 54% of summer travelers had to take a flight to pick up their lost luggage and 33% had to fly to a far-away airport to retrieve their bags.
- On average, flight delays and cancellations left travelers stranded at the airport for more than 5 hours.
- 19% of travelers lost money on prepaid activities they missed due to delays or cancellations and 17% had to cancel their travel plans entirely and lost money on airport parking, transportation, dog kenneling and unused hotel rooms.
- 13% of travelers missed a cruise as a result of flight cancellations and delays.
- Canceled flights, delays and lost luggage were most common for passengers traveling within the U.S.
Makes a driving vacation seem like a damn good idea – doesn’t it?
Stock photos by Billy Pasco and John McArthur on Unsplash