delayed flight not delayed

Should an airline inform their passengers that the flight is delayed? Up until yesterday, I would have answered, "Of course. The more information the better." I'm having second thoughts.

The flight was originally scheduled to depart at 4:25pm. At 8:30am we recieved a text message that the flight had been delayed until 4:45pm. Minor delay, no biggie. At 11am the new departure time had shifted to 6pm. All afternoon, the departure time remained 6pm. We even checked the airline's website at 3:55pm, and it still said 6pm. Then at 4:20pm, the departure time changed: to 4:55pm! Shit. We were just approaching the rental car parking lot at 4:20pm. So we had 35 minutes to return the rental car, check our luggage, endure the TSA security line indignities, and get to our gate. Impossible.

When we arrived at the ticketing counter to check our luggage, we encountered a mob of passengers furious that the airline had told them 6pm for most of the day only to switch the departure time to 4:55pm at the very last minute. Our pilots were every bit as late as we were, because we watched them scramble to get through TSA security as the airport intercom system paiged their names frantically. Total chaos.

I think the moral of this story is to ignore the flight delay alerts and just show up to the airport at the originally scheduled time. The flight might not be delayed, and as far as the airline is concerned it's your fault for assuming that the information posted on the airline's own website is reliable.

I think the airline should reveal when a delay is planned because they really can't win. If they are 90% sure a flight isn't going to go but they wait until past departure to say it is two hours late, people get very angry. I agree your scenario is really bad, and it has happened to me once as well. We were on our way to the airport and got the text that the flight was 2 hours delayed. We decided to go for a leisurely breakfast but 1/2 hour later another text came that the flight is now on time. We made it just as they were getting ready to close the gate.

Perhaps they could give a probability estimate and you can gamble. There are many instances when the airline is 100% sure the flight isn't going to go. For example the only crew available won't complete the required time off work for 4 more hours or the only plane they can use is a 3 hour flight away. In these instances I certainly would rather know than sit around the airport for hours. If the delay is due to weather or air traffic then it is more speculative.

Send a letter to the FAA.

Once a delay is announced, they should stick to it. Unless an additional delay is needed.

Announce a delay then take off before that time is just as bad as no delay and taking off before the original time.

This scenario seems to happen quite often. With technology today it is much easier for you, the consumer, to track where the airplane is. Many times the airline will have the flight listed as on-time, but if you track the plane you may see it hasn't even departed the other airport yet and it is only an hour or less before scheduled departure.

I had this happen my last trip. I booked a flight, and later figured out it was my father's birthday. We met early and he was going to take me to the airport. The airline calls and says the flight is delayed two hours. We go out to dinner with our extra time, but the airline calls again and say it is leaving only fifteen minute late. Good thing we hadn't ordered yet.

I was quite annoyed, and concluded I shouldn't pay attention to that stuff. Over the next two hours, the airline calls fifteen times updating the flight all over the place. I don't know what the take off time was, but I arrived only an hour late, if that.