2. Use infrequent flyer miles to rebook.
3. To avoid cancellation, try canceling due to weather conditions.
4. Consider different cities and consider options other than the airport.
5. Use ExpertFlyer to choose the seat you want.
6. Use your ability to be an outstanding person to the fullest.
7. Use the power of social media to the fullest.
8. Take full advantage of the waiting room.
9. Call the airline's international line.
10. It's okay to ask!
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Most major airlines will allow you to cancel your reservation free of charge if you make it 24 hours before your flight time. This way, if you see that a problem arises, you can back up your reservation and cancel it later. If your plans are as you wish or you find that your original flights have been postponed or cancelled, take advantage of your new booking. The airlines where you can cancel your reservation free of charge 24 hours in advance are: Air Canada, Alaska,
American (free hold time), Delta, United, US Airways, JetBlue, Southwest and Virgin America. By caution, I mean you shouldn't depend on the airline staff to have all your options at their fingertips. When you call, it will explain alternative flight options in detail in the pop-up location, so you can inform them and make a reservation. Not only will you save time and hassle, but it will also be more convenient to get the options you need.
I always say this; Millers are the best insurance policies for last-minute emergency trips. This is because although airfares can skyrocket in the remaining few days before the flight, which is often when the award slot opens, they have personally saved me from many situations recently. So if your flight is canceled and you can't get a refund, your best option may be to pocket the original flight cost and use another airline's miles to book alternative tickets. The only thing you need to pay attention to is that most airlines charge a reservation fee for award reservations made within 21 days, so you must make your reservation 21 days in advance, otherwise there may be charges. These are usually those canceled by the discounted or elite class. Here is a list of major domestic policy:
As I mentioned in last Friday's post about snowstorm postponements and cancellations, airlines often cautiously (or at least actively) offer customers who waive their rights due to weather conditions to give them another refund without having to cancel their flight and paying the difference in change and fare if they postpone it to a certain time. It offers the opportunity to postpone the date. Keeping your airline's policy up to date will mean you'll know exactly when to waive it due to weather conditions and be among the first to postpone it until weather conditions are likely to improve. Not only that, it can also be a good strategy if you know your plans will change in any way. For example, my mother had flight plans this week that she realized she had to cancel a few days ago for personal reasons. Instead of canceling outright and waiving his right and paying a change fee, he waited to see if the weather would affect his trip and once he was sure enough, he waived it because of the weather so he could cancel his ticket and get a refund. This resulted in him pocketing $600. If your flight plans coincide with bad weather conditions, consider taking a little risk and waiting to see if the weather will affect your flight plans and if you can waive it due to weather conditions.
Consider options other than the airport and consider taking the train as a nearby alternative if it means you can catch your planned flight.
All three New York City area airports, JFK, La Guardia and Newark, have been hit with major delays, tons of cancellations, and people hoping to fly at one of those three trying to get a ticket exchanged at the airport they bought their ticket to fly at, or at one of the other two, to take their revenge on the reservation system. It gets worse when it comes to ticket exchange. Instead of flying to Philadelphia or Hartford, families can take the Amtrak train from New York, for example. Clearly check your flight status at the alternative airport or airports you are considering, but if they are better than the airport you bought your ticket from, if they will get you closer to your plans in time, step out of the box and check out train, bus or car-based options.
This is very close to being cautious. In my experience, it's never good to call an airline for help and expect them to have a million options for you, especially since in these situations they tend to get stressed and have to work harder, and they often make mistakes, especially when looking at other airlines' records. It is not an idea. What I like to do is launch ExpertFlyer and use it to find empty seats. As I usually mentioned, instead of searching for the airline, you can use it to find seats of any class on flights of various airlines that you can buy with miles or money. You can also set an exact flight date to postpone your flight.
Being elite can mean spending days at the airport or buying a new plane ticket immediately when a flight is delayed or canceled. So if you're the picky type, call the dedicated service line, which usually cuts down on wait time and is where they see all your information. Even if you are not an elite person, if you have a connection with a middle or upper class elite class person who can help you from the airline company where you have your flight ticket, have them call the airline company's special service line. Wait times are usually shorter and staff on this line will be more willing to go the extra mile for a select member than for your average traveler.
Flights are canceled as the waiting time on the long line becomes longer. The most responsive airlines on social media, especially Twitter, are American and Delta, and in my experience, Alaska and United are also getting better. Here's a Twitter list of airlines taking matters into their own hands:
Why lie on the floor while waiting in the waiting room?
While other passengers are stuck waiting in the winding line that winds from the customer service desk in the terminal, you may be sitting comfortably in the airline waiting room, where desk staff are often given permission to make last-minute booking changes more quickly, and there are likely to be fewer people in the prime time queue. At least you get WiFi and a free snack(drink) while you wait. The Citi Executive AAdvantage World Mastercard, the Delta Reserve, United Club card or Platinum Amex cards that provide access to the waiting room are also the reason for this.
Don't waste your time waiting in a US call center that is overflowing with people's calls when you could call the international line via Skype for faster service!
While major airlines' US numbers will be inundated with passengers scrambling to change plans at the last minute, most airlines' international customer service lines will have the usual wait time. Before you worry about the cost of calling Australia and Asia and long waits on the phone, most international customer service lines accept Skype calls for free, so if you've got a Skype account and access to WiFi, you're good as gold.
Here are links to leading airlines and their international call centre.
Yes, that's my magic word that I repeat all the time… Because it works! We've all had a terrible experience with airline customer service representatives, but in my experience, when I come across an understanding agent and I'm polite, they do everything they can to help me and I'm grateful. If you come across a polite customer representative, there is no harm in asking for whatever you need. Most will tell you that you can't change your ticket to another flight, but they can, and if that's your plan, be nice and encourage them to do it until they agree to look into the friendly airline's options for you. Listen to them, they may have ideas or insider information that you don't know about and they will have up-to-date information on flight cancellations, so use them as a resource.
