The massive delays and flight cancellations happening throughout the U.S. this summer are continuing with very little relief in sight before the middle of September.

But there are some things you can do now, and even later in the year, to give yourself a fighting chance at an on-time flight.

First, don’t just call the airline and ask if your flight is on-time. More often than not, the agent on the other end of the phone interprets that question to mean is it scheduled to be on time and says yes. That isn’t helpful.

Instead, ask the agent for the tail number of the plane assigned to your flight.

Then, ask the current location of that tail number. If you’re going to Boston in three hours, but your aircraft is currently in Belize, you then have the luxury of knowing ahead of everyone else that your flight will be delayed or canceled, and then you can rebook with the agent on the phone.