No matter who you are, I’m sure you’ve dealt with some sort of airline delay if you have flown before.  Airline delays are here to stay but there are some things that you can do so that you can potentially avoid them.   You won’t want to show up at the airport and find out that your plane has been delayed for 4 hours.

Research before you book:  Before you even book your flight, check out the ratings of every airline.  Airline ratings are based on an array of things including if they’ve been on time.  A great place to start looking for ratings is FlightStats.com.  Put in the airline and flight number and you can get a great list of statistics all for free.

Call up ahead of time:  If you have your flight booked, always call up ahead of time to see how your plane is doing.  If there’s a delay, they will let you know about it.  I would recommend that you always call up ahead of time, especially if the weather is bad.

Always arrive early:  Even if your plane isn’t experience a delay, always get the airport early.  This will just make it easier for you so that you know you can get on the plane and get seated.  Nothing is worst than running through an airport or going through security.

Talk with the airline:  If you find out the flight is cancelled or severely delayed for any reason, ask and see if you can get on the next available flight.  If it’s an emergency, let them know!  Never pay for your ticket either and always make the airline responsible for your next flight ticket.

Try and avoid peak times:  Try avoid flying during peak times.  Instead, fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday when traffic is light.  If you can do this, you’re going to save the trouble of a delay.  I’m not saying your flight won’t be delayed but your odds of a delay are greater when you’re with a bigger crowd.

There’s only so much you can do when there’s a delay.  If you do experience a delay, just stay calm because everything will work out in the end.  If you become angry, you’re only going to hurt yourself and make things worse.  Airlines love working with people that will cooperate, trust me.