People who fly a lot....

[RiverRat1]

Is it safe to travel? I read headlines of pilot shortages etc. Has any of that affected you personally?

My wife is taking a trip. Curious what the odds are of everything being screwed up.. She's going Dec 26-30 How bad could it be?

[Johnny Dangerr]

In for the answer...

Supposed to call for tickets today...

[Raleigh]

Expect delays, cancelled and rescheduled flights no matter what airline you fly. Patience for s key.

[3rdCoastHunter]

She has a good chance of being delayed mainly because goobers choose not to get the Covid vaccine lmao oh the irony.

[Casey]

My wife flew from San Antonio to Chicago over the weekend. I think she had some minor delays but basically got there and back without incident.

[WItoTX]

Yes. Hope she isn't flying American.

My folks flew to Houston two weekends ago. Their flight down was delayed but due to mechanical problems at their local airport. It happens, I get it.

Their flight back home was a cluster-f. Got to Houston airport, flew out late due to missing pilots to Chicago. They ran to their connecting flight, got there 8 minutes before departure, door was shut and American wouldn't let them board despite the plane sitting, connected to the jetway, for another 40 minutes. They got rebooked on another flight, only to be delayed due to missing pilots again.

Patience is key. And apparently masks.

[diamond10x]

I’ve flown 7 times round trip since February and only had one delayed flight and it was due to maintenance. All these flights have been from TX to other western states. The one delay was a 7am flight (Delta Airlines) on a Sunday morning out of Billings, MT and there was no mechanic on duty so they had to call him to come in.

[Matador]

Flying that time of year is a clown show in a normal year...

[jlp04c]

I flew with American this past weekend out of DFW. We left Friday, Came back Monday. Even with the significant weather in Florida we had 0 issues. The flight boards all looked clean as well. It was probably the most pleasant flight experience i've ever had.. TSA check lines were super short, quick etc. And flights left on time on the exact minute we were scheduled to be leaving. In fact, I didnt even book my hotel until we landed because I was afraid of delays, but we experienced the opposite!

[WRasco]

Flying that time of year is a clown show in a normal year...

This, I have over a million miles in pressurized tubes, all prior to 2020. Headed to Greece in January for work and am not looking forward to it.

Holidays and weekends are the worst times to fly or be in an airport.
Best of luck to your wife.

[Johnny Dangerr]

Sounds like a crap shoot...

[WinslowBoy]

Been a travel warrior lately. 10 trips in the last 3 months, all flights domestically in the US. Only been delayed one time and that was due to an actual maintenance issue (crew was there and we pushed back first). All others have been on-time and problem free.

All these flights except one were on United originating out of Houston (Delta the other). What I have noticed is that flights are FULL!!! During COVID, many airlines reduced the numbers of flights and it seems like the airports are starting to look like "normal" again. Almost every flight I was asked if I would be willing to take a later flight for a voucher, meaning they were overbooked.

With all that said, she should be fine. I will say to get to the airport early for those travel dates. Tons of people will be flying over the holidays and security lines will be long. And be sure she has her mask. The flight attendants take the "mask police" role seriously.

[TreyRo]

I fly quit a bit and have only been delayed once in the last 3-4 months and that was due to actual weather. I also avoid holidays at all costs and generally fly during the middle of the week since it's generally only work related.

Side note: Most airports are like "people of walmart" these days. Reminds me of a mall food court.

[IowaHunter]

My rule is expect the worst and hope for the best. I’m a United flyer and always have the United Club membership to fall on if the flights are messed up.

[Sackett]

She has a good chance of being delayed mainly because goobers choose not to get the Covid vaccine lmao oh the irony.

"Goobers"? I think the "Goober" is the person or company mandating a Un-proven and Un-tested "Vaccine" be injected into someone's body. It could also be applied to your comment, calling people that make the educated decision NOT to have the un-tested "vaccine", Goober.

Op, if there is a delay, it's because airlines are safely routing flights due a shortage of personnel. There won't be a shortage of staff on a operating plane, but you will most likely have a delay of some sort.