How travel disruptions affected Americans last year

A new study has found seven in 10 Americans have had their travel plans go wrong within the past year.The poll of 2,000 U.S.adults who have traveled in the last 12 months found 46% have had flights delayed or canceled, 28% have lost their luggage, 15% have had their reservations changed without notice and 11% have had their personal belongings damaged.Four in 10 of them said their travel woes, including unexpected events and accidents, have completely derailed their trip — some citing they’ve had to endure hurricanes, blizzards, car breakdowns, stolen luggage, plane damage, missing pilots and even military operations.Commissioned by AXA Partners and conducted by Talker Research, the study also found the average person plans their trips eight weeks in advance and will spend $1,120 to make their travel arrangements.Seventy-seven percent agreed the cost of travel today is uncomfortably expensive, and many will omit travel essentials and niceties just to stay under budget. Travelers said they give up premium car rentals (52%), premium seating (50%), in-flight entertainment (46%) and luggage fees (45%) if they need to.More than a third (36%) will even skip out on buying travel insurance, believing it either won’t be used (40%), that it’s too expensive (36%) or that they won’t need it for short trips (26%).Despite this, 58% admitted they were concerned about an unexpected event or accident occurring while they travel.

And 63% know they would be left feeling frustrated if something were to happen.“We can always hope that our trips are nice and smooth, but it’s hard to predict when the unpredictable might happen,” said Stephen Samataro, Chief Revenue Officer at AXA Partners.“When the cost of these trips are seemingly always increasing, there’s a sense of urgency to make sure you’re getting every cent’s worth — but when the unexpected happens, it can have dire consequences beyond just what you’re paying.”The study found 42% of travelers sai...