Hello -

I've noticed that many airlines do not post the true status of a flight until the very last minute - e.g. a flight from IAD-LAX that is meant to depart at 6:00pm but that will not actually depart until 9:00pm, because the aircraft is arriving from LAX three hours late.

They will know that the flight will be late, of course, before the aircraft leaves LAX to begin with, but they won't post this until 30 min before the flight from IAD is due to depart. So passengers who arrive on time are stuck in the airport for three extra hours, when they could have simply left for the airport later.

Whay do airlines do this, and more importantly, is there a website where one can find the REAL status of a flight as soon as it's known? Any info would be much appreciated!