Q. I don't know why I bother leaving work early to make the flight back to my hometown. It is consistently delayed. Now I've started to check the status of the flight before I leave work, and rush less. My question is, when I see that it's been delayed by two hours, is there any real reason I should stick to the original check-in time? According to the airline, I should, but if they themselves are late, I just don't see the point.

A. As tempting as it is, we think you're better off playing it safe. Whatever the cause of the delay (mechanical...late incoming flight...) there's always the slim chance it could suddenly and miraculously be corrected. Your airline could switch things up and use an alternate plane, or that incoming flight could very well make it on time. In the end, status is just an estimation, and you'll probably have a much smoother trip if you show up on time rather than risk missing the flight and scrambling to get on the next.