The Thrifty Traveler Podcast · Thrifty Traveler

What We Do When Travel Goes Wrong: How to Survive Delays & Cancellations

·1 hr 4 min·4 clips

Sunday brought almost 3,000 cancellations and more than 10,000 delays.

1. The Thrifty Traveler Podcast episode centers on what to do when travel goes wrong, with Gunnar Olsson and Kyle Potter framing delays, cancellations, and shutdown-related disruption as the main topic. 2. Gunnar Olsson hosts the show, and Kyle Potter, Thrifty Traveler’s executive editor, answers with specific booking and rebooking tactics that matter when flights unravel. 3. The episode asks how travelers can survive delays and cancellations with fewer costs, less stress, and better odds of getting home. 4. Gunnar describes his Delta trip through a snowstorm in Detroit and says he spent 3.5 hours on the tarmac after flying back from East Lansing. 5. Kyle says he got home from Newark after a two-hour delay and calls Newark one of the worst airports in the United States over the last 40-plus days. 6. They connect the travel chaos to the government shutdown, FAA staffing shortages, and a weekend that brought almost 3,000 cancellations and more than 10,000 delays. 7. Kyle says the shutdown’s effects will not reset overnight because airlines and air traffic control still need time to realign crews, planes, and schedules. 8. He says disruptions may continue through the rest of the week and notes that FAA-mandated cuts of 3%, 4%, 5%, and then 10% can worsen recovery. 9. Kyle cites Sean Duffy’s comment that air traffic controllers have been leaving at a rate of 15 to 20 a day, compared with about three or four a day in normal times. 10. The discussion turns to Thanksgiving, including Gunnar’s warning that Sunday, November 30, the day after Thanksgiving, is always the busiest travel day of the year. 11. Built is the first news item, and the hosts say it is rolling out three co-branded credit cards, including a no-annual-fee card, a $95 card, and a $495 premium card. 12. They say Built will let cardholders earn points on any mortgage from any mortgage provider when those new cards arrive early next year. 13. Kyle says Built is also partnering with Rakuten so shoppers can earn Built points through online purchases instead of cash back. 14. The Qatar Airways segment focuses on basic business class and the new rule that award tickets will not include a free seat assignment. 15. Kyle says Qatar’s move adds another cash cost to awards that already carry higher surcharges, including about $250 nonstop and closer to $400 on connecting itineraries. 16. They note that status holders and some oneworld elites can avoid the seat-selection fee, but base travelers may still face it. 17. The extra-mile section gives a practical framework for handling disruption, and Kyle repeatedly returns to the idea that preparation matters more than optimism. 18. The hosts use a conversational interview style, with Gunnar asking concrete scenario-based questions and Kyle answering in short operational steps. 19. Listeners who book flights, points redemptions, or holiday travel will get the most value from this episode. 20. Listeners who want only destination reviews or airline product talk may skip it.

As heard by us

A practical guide to getting home when weather and airline chaos take over.

Gunnar Olsson and Kyle Potter keep the focus on the kind of travel trouble that feels ordinary until it ruins a day: delay stories, a Detroit tarmac mess, and the airline problems that make weather and timing the real route. The advice is plain and useful.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Your next flight might need this more than your boarding pass.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Thrifty Traveler Podcast