YourBestFlight › Flight delayed, what should I do?
Flight delayed? What to do right now.
Most "flight delayed" guides hand you a checklist. When you're standing at the gate, you don't need a to‑do list — you need the one flight that will actually get you there.
Why the times you're looking at are probably wrong
During a delay, airline apps and booking sites keep showing the originally scheduled times for a while. Those times drive which options look "best," so the flight the app pushes to the top may already be gone — and a genuinely better one is buried. The gap between the published time and the real, adjusted time is where the wrong decisions happen.
Delta 1234, ATL → BOS. The app still lists a 6:10 PM departure. But the aircraft assigned to your flight is still on the ground in Miami and hasn't left; once you account for the inbound leg and the ground time the airline needs, the realistic departure is closer to 8:40 PM.
| Published | Adjusted (realistic) | |
|---|---|---|
| Departure | 6:10 PM | 8:40 PM |
| Arrival | 8:35 PM | 11:05 PM |
A 2½‑hour gap. If you booked based on the 6:10 PM time, you'd make a bad call.
How YourBestFlight reaches a different result
Instead of trusting the schedule, YourBestFlight checks the things that actually decide whether a flight goes:
- The live position of the aircraft assigned to each flight, and how late its inbound leg is running.
- Realistic departure times once ground stops, airport delays, and turnaround time are taken into account.
- Weather at each airport at your times, seat availability for your party, and connection risk.
Then it ranks the alternatives by probability of getting you there and names the one to rebook — a decision, not a checklist. And if your delay already earns you a refund, it tells you and links you to the exact DOT rule.
Check your delayed flight
Enter your airline and flight number — no airport codes needed — and we'll read its live status, then find your best way out.
Free · no account Live status and any refund you're owed — no charge to check.
Decision support only, and not legal advice — always confirm changes and your rights directly with your airline. Refund rules reflect the U.S. DOT baseline; an airline's own policy can be more generous.