Winter Weather Travel

Winter Weather Travel

It's that time of year where winter storms start to hinder travel plans. In order to be best prepared for what to do if you get caught in a storm and your travel gets delayed or canceled, here are some things to know:

  1. While you can't do anything to prevent a storm, you can do something to help cover your travel investment with travel insurance.

  2. Sign up for email notifications from your airline or check the airline’s site for your flight’s status, but a lot of weather decisions are made last minute, so if you want to get on a flight ASAP, go to the airport.

  3. The airline’s website is the best place to look. You can typically find a link on the home page that will reference something like, winter advisory.

  4. When a winter storm hits, each airline will have their own rules for rebooking/cancelling.

  5. The airline will list what terms they will waive, free refund, date change for +/- a few days, etc. and most times the rebooking/cancel fee is out of our control.

  6. If you are looking to cancel your flight for a refund, call StudentUniverse or the airline in advance of departure.

  7. If you’re looking to rebook the flight, check the airline’s site first for any waivers of rules and fees.

  8. If you’re looking to travel, and are at the airport, and your flight is cancelled, the best way to get booked quicker is to be kind. Remember, gate agents wish they could rebook everyone at once, but they can't, and the gate agent has the power, so they will prioritize the airline’s top flyers and nice people first.

  9. When you go to the airport, make sure you have a print out of your flight numbers to make the process smoother.

  10. If you’re at the airport, and want to fly out, DON’T go home or call anyone, the best person to get you on a flight is a gate agent or customer service rep at the airport, and face-to-face is best.

  11. Always check your connections. If you’re traveling NY to LA and connect in Chicago, you need to check Chicago’s weather too.

Need help with your flight? Contact one of our customer service agents.

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