A British Midlands jet lands at Belfast International Airport.
Photo © 2009 Aaron Saunders
Núll vitleysa. It's the rough Icelandic translation of "Oh crap." This week, a great many travelers attempting to fly into or out of some of Europe's largest airports - Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle, and Frankfurt - were saying that phrase as well as a few choice four letter ones upon news that an unprecedented volcanic eruption in Iceland had shut down most of Northern Europe's airspace until at least this afternoon, and possibly beyond.
For all travelers, something of this magnitude is disruptive. Business travelers are stuck, holidaymakers are either scrambling to call their employers to explain why they won't be home after taking several weeks off, while others have watched their long-awaited vacation plans blow up in a similar fashion to the volcano in question. People trying to make connecting flights have found themselves stranded in a city they weren't prepared to spend more than a few hours in.
What has played out at airports around the world this week is known as force majeure, meaning superior force in French. It's also an elegant substitution for some of those more common four-letter words we talked about earlier. A staple of contracts around the world, a force majeure frees both parties from any legal obligations to each other due to unforseen and far-reaching events, like floods, acts of war, riots, and yes, volcanic eruptions. It's the legal equivalent of throwing up your hands and saying "damned if we know."
So what's a traveler to do - particularly if you are trying to reach a cruise - and something like this happens? There are a few steps you can take right when you book your next cruise or flight to hopefully ensure you get to your destination, or at the very least receive a substantial refund.
1. Purchase Trip Delay & Cancellation Insurance
When the cards are stacked against you, this will be your best friend. You want to purchase this not just for your flights, but your cruise as well. Let's say you were trying to get to a cruise leaving from Southampton, but were prevented from doing so due to the eruption. British Airways would have re-scheduled your flights at no additional cost, but here's the kicker: unless the cruise line physically cancels your voyage itself, you're not entitled to a refund without cancellation insurance, regardless of the fact you could not reasonably get to your destination.
A similar situation played out for many passengers in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake in Chile. Flights into and out of Santiago were canceled for days - yet cruises from the port continued to operate. So even though passengers could not realistically join the ship, the cruise line expected them to make their way through an earthquake-ravaged country with little infrastructure and no operational airport to join their ship. At their own expense.
Trip cancellation insurance allows you to cancel your trip in the event of something like this, and will reimburse you directly for all costs, including the cruise. If you are delayed en-route, or are forced to fly to a port of embarkation, usually a per diem will apply - but you are still fully covered.
Not having trip delay and cancellation insurance leaves you holding the bag for the costs if you can't reasonably reach your ship and have to cancel entirely. Remember: if the cruise line cancels your voyage, you are entitled to a refund. If not, you are not entitled to any special consideration, even if there was no way you could get to the ship.
2. Research Your Flights
This is the second most crucial step, and one that a surprising number of passengers don't bother to investigate.
Say you're leaving on a cruise from San Diego. You're flying from Vancouver, and are planning to fly out the day of the cruise. There's a flight that leaves at 8am, arriving in San Diego at 11am. Perfect, right? Maybe not - what if a mechanical issue forced the cancellation of the flight?
No problem, I hear you say, they'll just put me on the next one.
Ahh...but is there a 'next one'?
In this case, no. There is one direct flight from Vancouver to San Diego on Air Canada per day. A quick Travelocity search shows there are other flights to San Diego - but all on other airlines, and all of which connect and arrive too late to be of any use. In short: if you missed that flight, you'd better start looking at airlines that fly to your next port of call.
So here's what you do: assume the worst. Assume one or more of your flights may be canceled - just for the sake of argument. What would you do? If you don't know the answer to that, you haven't done your homework. Do some research: are there other flights you could catch, and if so, what airline are they operated by? In the event of a cancellation, if the airline is unable to book you on one of their flights, they'll try their codeshare and alliance partners first.
Jot down the other possible flights that would work in the event of an emergency, and take it with you along with your passport and travel documents. If the worst does happen, you've got a printout showing what other flights work for you - and by handing that to the gate agent, you can save valuable time and possibly secure yourself a spot on one of the last - or only - other flights that will work for you.
Lastly, keep a small piece of paper with the reservation numbers for major airlines servicing your destination with you at all times.
3. Arrive a Day or Two Beforehand
For North America, this one is a must, particularly in the United States. Many flights connect with short time windows in large airports and are rarely on time. As if that wasn't bad enough, a few airlines (you know who you are) seem to make a game out of last minute schedule changes. Flying in a day or two early ensures you're not going to miss that ship.
For European destinations, that can prove problematic. The time change dictates you're already having to leave at least one calendar day before your voyage, and work schedules as well as flight availability during peak summer months means you might be flying - and connecting - to arrive on the day of the cruise.
If you have to go this route (and we all do sometimes), try to pick the flight that arrives the earliest (as this gives you a larger buffer zone to safeguard against delays), as well as a direct flight or one that only connects once. Try to time it so you connect through your own country if possible to avoid having to clear customs until you reach your final destination, and/or ensure your connection window is no less than 90 minutes.
4. Be Flexible
Don't panic - if a problem arises, just keep going. Make the decision early on about whether to cancel your cruise or continue to do your best to reach the port in time. Many cruise lines have an emergency number for in-transit guests to call if they are facing air delays en-route. Always have this number with you; it helps to keep the line informed, as they will in turn keep the ship up-to-date, and may - if port and tide conditions allow - hold the ship if there are enough of you. Remember though, this is a courtesy, not a guarantee, and if they do hold it, unless there's a 747 full of you, it will be for 30-40 minutes or so.
In the end? The best advice is to be prepared for the worst, so you can be calm and collected should it happen. Be informed; don't be one of those passengers suggesting the airlines should have just flown through the ash cloud anyway - they clearly haven't done their homework.
And be thankful that this sort of thing doesn't happen often.
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