It can be hard to get a straight answer out of airlines sometime about the real reason a flight is delayed. For some reason, though, they’re more straight up about their packages than their passengers. See, the airlines have special cargo websites which are supposed to be for people tracking packages they’re shipping through the airline. Here’s the cargo sites for some of the major carriers…

AmericanAirlines
Continental
Delta
NWA
Southwest
United
USAirways

If your flight is delayed, check the cargo site. If the reason given is other than the weather, save a copy of the site (hit print screen, paste it a photo editor, save the file) and now you’re in a position to negotiate refunds, miles, and seat upgrades, from the airline, (as the delay has to be due to a fault of the airline, like mechanical difficulty, in order to get remuneration). Sometimes the information isn’t always accurate so it’s also good to check the info at FlightStats.com.

[via Upgrade Travel Better via Rick Seaney]

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