Just how late is your flight going to be? Here’s how to find out — and what to do

While winter storms make for dramatic pictures of shut-down airports, travelers know that summer thunderstorms can cause just about as many delays. And one of the most frustrating things about delays is the uncertainty.

For example, if you know a plane is delayed a couple hours, you can relax and have a meal, get some work done, or perhaps stay in your comfortable hotel or home a little longer. It’s those 5 to 15 minute delays that can really make you crazy.

While all of this is an inexact science, here are several tips to try to reduce the uncertainty.

First, try to contact the airline or your travel agent to find out the cause of the delay, if it hasn’t been announced. Sometimes they will tell you at the gate, if you can get close enough to talk to a human.

But remember, gate agents for delayed flights are in one of the worst positions in the travel industry. So use common sense and be as nice as possible. If there are twenty people in line, an agent is going to be a lot less forthcoming with information and speculation. If, however, there is no one else around, an nicely asked query may get you more information.

Airline clubs such as Delta’s Crown Room or United’s Red Carpet Club, may also have personnel with information, and they are likely to have more time to talk.

If the delay is caused by “late arrival” of another flight, try to find out when that other plane is actually arriving. Airlines have that information, as do travel agents. Earlier this month United Express was saying an Atlanta-Dulles flight was leaving late at about 8:30 p.m., when the plane was still on the ground in Dulles after 6 p.m. And it’s a two hour flight. So 8:30 was incredibly optimistic. (The plane finally arrived in Dulles after 9 p.m. and pushed back from the gate after 10.

Besides a delayed plane, a delayed crew is another potential problem. Often flight crews will switch from one plane to another, so everything can be fine with your plane, but if the crew is coming in from somewhere else, no one is going anywhere. Again, if you know when that other plane is arriving, you can get a better idea of your departure time. Crews will get to their next plane as soon as they can, but they generally can’t get through a terminal much fast than passengers can.

If it’s “crew legality” this can be a reasonably set delay. The FAA mandates that pilots have a certain amount of downtime between flights to rest. And that means if those pilots got in late the night before and their minimum rest time ends at 8:32 a.m. the next day, then that plane is not going to leave until 8:32 a.m. Period. Regardless if everyone is there and the plane is not ready to go.

Note, flight attendants don’t have the same rules, so you easily can have flight attendants on your plane who have had very little sleep. If so, be kind.

The other three most common codes can be somewhat open ended – weather, ATC (Air Traffic Control) holds, and mechanicals. In some cases, an airline will have information on how long the weather issue may last, though it is an inexact science, ditto the ATC holds, when an airline may have an estimated time, but it could be subject to change.

With mechanicals, if you can find out the nature of the problem, you may be able to get a better sense of the time involved. A flat tire or broken seat can be a quick fix, a light that is on that shouldn’t be on can be a different matter. (And even if the airline determines the problem is a broken sensor light and not a more serious issue, there will be serious paperwork involved.

Another danger with weather or mechanical delays is that if they go on long enough, you can run into crew legality issues, and then it’s either get a new crew, or wait until the original crew is rested. (This can really mess up Hawaii flights, where a new crew can’t simply drive in.)

None of these tips is a guaranteed answer for a delay time, but they can take some of the uncertainty out of delays. And potentially give you the information you need to about changing a meeting, or even changing to another flight.

But perhaps the most important tip with any delay, whether you decided to wait it out at the gate, an airline club, or an airport shop, restaurant or bar, don’t go too far away from a departure monitor. With any or all of these reasons, things can change.

And the only thing worse than finding your plane will be delayed another few hours, is to find that the airline has found a new aircraft, crew, or some other fix, and the plane has left without you.