If your flight to Geneva is delayed, your pre-booked transfer is not lost: the driver monitors your flight and adjusts the pick-up to the actual landing time, so you still find your chauffeur waiting in arrivals. With AirportsTransfers.ch, waiting caused by a late flight is included. Your main job is simply to make sure the flight number in your booking is correct and to send a message if anything changes.
- Flight monitoring: the driver follows the real arrival time, not the timetable
- Waiting: included if your flight lands late
- Your role: give the correct flight number and keep your phone on
- Big changes: cancellations or new flight numbers must be communicated
- Departures: a delayed outbound flight does not change your pick-up unless you ask
How flight monitoring works
When you book an airport collection, you provide your flight number. From that point the transfer company follows the flight using live data from airlines and airports. If the departure is delayed, the expected arrival time changes and the driver's schedule moves with it. If the aircraft makes up time in the air and lands early, the driver is there earlier. This removes the need for you to call from your departure airport just to report a delay that the driver can already see.
Monitoring relies on the flight number being right. Double-check it in your confirmation, including the airline code, and note that codeshare flights can carry more than one number. If in doubt, give the number shown on your boarding pass for the operating airline.
Waiting time in general terms
Airport transfers generally include a period of waiting after landing, to cover disembarking, passport control and baggage reclaim. When a flight is delayed, that waiting period starts from the actual landing time rather than the scheduled one, so a late flight does not eat into the time you have to collect your bags. Companies set out their waiting terms in their booking conditions, and it is worth reading them so you know what applies. With AirportsTransfers.ch, waiting due to a late flight is included in the fixed price.
Why do companies include this? Because delays are part of air travel, especially in winter when de-icing, fog or congested airspace over the Alps can push arrivals back. A transfer service that charged extra or left whenever a flight ran late would be of little use to travellers. Building waiting into the fixed price keeps the cost predictable and the arrival calm.
The situation is different if the delay happens after landing for reasons unrelated to the flight, for example if you stop for a long meal before coming out. In that case, keep your driver informed so the timing can be managed.
What passengers should do
Most delays need no action at all. Still, a few habits help. Save the driver's contact number before you fly. Switch your phone on after landing and read any messages. If you are held up inside the terminal by a long passport queue or a missing bag, send a short note with an estimate. If the delay is very long, for example several hours overnight, a quick message to confirm you are still coming is reassuring for everyone.
Where the delay changes your plans, for instance if you decide to stay at an airport hotel and continue to the mountains the next morning, contact the transfer company as soon as possible to rearrange the booking. The driver can follow a flight, but cannot guess a change of plan.
Delays on long transfers to the mountains
For long journeys, such as about 2 h 15 to Courchevel or around 2 h 45 to Val d'Isère, a significantly delayed arrival can mean reaching the resort late at night. Your driver will still take you all the way, but it is wise to warn your chalet or hotel of the new arrival time so someone can let you in. In winter, late-night mountain roads can be colder and icier, which is another reason to let an experienced driver handle the journey rather than collecting a hire car after a long delay.
When your departure flight is delayed
On the way home, a delay announced before you leave does not automatically change your pick-up. Airlines usually ask passengers to keep to the original check-in times unless told otherwise, because delays can shrink again. If you wish to move the pick-up, contact the transfer company and agree a new time; otherwise the driver arrives as booked.
Booking a transfer that adapts to your flight
Book online with AirportsTransfers.ch and the fixed price per vehicle is shown before you pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Every airport pick-up includes flight tracking and meet-and-greet with a name sign. Choose the vehicle to suit your group, from an E-Class to a V-Class or Sprinter, declare skis at booking and request child seats if needed. If your plans change because of a delay, phone or WhatsApp +41 78 346 56 77, at any hour.
