After a summer of horror stories about flying, the thought of airline travel might make you queasy. A recent Tech Fix column detailed several tips for planning an easier journey, but what can you do if that journey is disrupted en route? Here’s a plan for using your smartphone as a travel aid while you hope for the best — but prepare for the worst.
1. Check Your Apps
If you haven’t done so, download the official apps for the airlines you’ll be using on your trip. You may have signed up for travel alerts by text or email when you booked your flight, but you can get notifications in the airline app, too — along with tools that come in handy when plans go awry.
A weather app that shows you the conditions at all your flight-connection points is useful for advance planning. And if inclement weather or airline issues cancel your flight, having apps for hotel chains, car-rental services or even train schedules already installed can help you quickly book a place to stay for the night or find alternative ground transportation.
2. Check Your Flight
Most airline apps offer mobile check-in and digital boarding passes 24 hours before takeoff, as well as a status screen to see if your flight is on time, delayed or canceled. (Airline notifications also alert you to changes in the flight’s status.)
If a flight is delayed or canceled, it’s often because the designated plane is behind schedule on a prior assignment. Some major airline and tracker apps include a “Where’s My Plane?” feature that shows the current location of the aircraft assigned to your flight. If you see that your plane is late arriving and you’ll miss your next connection, you can immediately start the rebooking process.
Third-party flight-tracker apps work across multiple airlines and provide additional information, like worldwide airport delays. Flightradar24 and FlightAware (both free with in-app subscription purchases) or the free basic FlightStats are among the many options for Android and iOS users. Flighty for the iPhone ($6 a month; various plans are…
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