Is there anything worse than rushing to the airport and through security, only to find out your flight is delayed?

Waiting around for hours in an airport certainly isn't ideal — but what if you could find out where your plane really is, before you even leave the house?

Well, according to CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg, you can. He says there's one question you should ask to find out if your flight is actually on time.

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Most people who call the airline in advance simply provide their flight number and ask whether or not it's on time, but Peter says you have to be more specific.

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When you call the airline and ask to speak to someone, ask them to tell you the tail number on the plane that's assigned to your flight.

"It's on their screen, trust me," the travel pro says.

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Once they tell you the number, ask where that tail number is.

"Let's say you want to go to Boston. They say tail number 97 is in Belize — you're not going to Boston!" the expert says. "So you have the wonderful comfort of being disappointed in your own home."

But hey, once you know that, you're already on the phone with the airline — so you can go ahead and ask the agent to rebook you.

"You're not standing in line at the airport, you're ahead of the game," Peter adds.

Who knew?!