Snowstorm Contingency Planning

[Jaddy]

Here's the hypothetical: We book our flight online: no travel agent. Our flight has been charged to our Chase Sapphire Preferred or our Amex card. Our flight is cancelled because of a snowstorm in a connecting city, let's say Chicago. There are flights going out through Atlanta or wherever, but there is a mile long line to get rebooked. Is there anyone I can call from the airport that can rebook us right then and there?

 

Don't say the airline because it will be impossible to get through to them when this situation presents itself. Also, we do try to fly to our destination a day before the cruise but that isn't always possible.

 

Any ideas???

[Brighton Line]

There are services that for a fee that will help you rebook. They are travel agents so can't post contact information. One has a blog with cranky in the name that comes to mind like using a hotel concierge... Opps might have said too much.

 

I am more for DIY and stand on line while hitting redial.

[ArthurUSCG]

Usually with snow storms, the airlines wave the rebooking fee days before or after. If my flight was going to be right before or after a major snow storm and the airline could get me out before the cancellations would happen, I would jump on it.

 

It is better to get there 2 days earlier then 2 days after the ship sales.

[FlyerTalker]

If you have the Amex Platinum card (not the DL platinum or similar - I mean the one that's $450 per year) or the Centurion card, you can turn to them for concierge assistance. Or book through Amex Travel and use them for help.

 

One thing you have not mentioned is that you should be checking your flights pro-actively. Often, you will find that you have already been rebooked onto a different itinerary/routing. Or you can make a change yourself online. In any case, you should be online to research your own options....if the organic material is really hitting the impeller, you will ALWAYS have a better chance if you know what options could work rather than just saying "I need you to find me something else". Better to say "I see that there is a routing via XYZ that leaves here at 10am. Any chance of that?" Call it human nature, but agents will be more likely to go the extra mile for pax who have done at least a bit of homework before calling.

 

There are tricks to get to the top of the phone queue....most all involve flying tons of miles to get top-tier status and access to special phone agents. But having that phone number alone won't help...unless you enter a FF number that has that status, you get shunted to the regular queue - NO FAKING IT.

 

Final tip....when on hold, put it on speakerphone. That way, you can be doing other stuff and then come back when someone picks up.

 

FWIW, I can remember a time when snow was creating havoc at Schiphol. I was simultaneously standing in a queue in the KLM lounge, Skypeing to a DL phone queue and working the internet on my netbook. Working all the angles. Found an option online, but it couldn't be changed online. Told it to a phone agent, who reserved it, but needed an agent in AMS to effect the change. The DL agent was just about to give me the details to tell the KL agent when I reached the top of the line. I walked to the desk and handed her my phone saying "The DL agent on the line will tell you what needs to be issued by you". She blinked, but it worked super smoothly.

 

Multiple methods....then use whatever you can.

[azevedan]

Chase Sapphire has a travel concierge to help out in cases like this.

[buggins0402]

There are services that for a fee that will help you rebook. They are travel agents so can't post contact information. One has a blog with cranky in the name that comes to mind like using a hotel concierge... Opps might have said too much.

 

I am more for DIY and stand on line while hitting redial.

 

Interesting service. Do you know anyone that has used them for their award flight service? Later this year I will start planning a 2017 trip to Asia, as much as possible with miles, as many long flights in business as possible and willing to combine with cash to make it happen. Intra Asia flights are cheap, so initial landing and takeoff cities wouldn't matter so much, but do create a Rubics cube number of possibilities that causes my head to spin. Seems like their fee would be worth it.

[iancal]

A few years ago we got stuck in DC on the way home from Puerto Rico. Major snowstorm. We were re-scheduled out the following day. Not good.

 

DW got in the line. I got on the phone 1800 number to United. After 45 minutes I got thru. Guess what...they got us on a west bound flight leaving in an hour. Last two seats. When the CSR directed me to the help desk to get a boarding pass I explained that DW was in that line, it had not moved for 45 minutes! She arranged for us to pick it up at the gate.

 

We were out of there in two hours flat and on our way (in exit row seats) to SF, and then on to our final destination. Pays to be patient and work the system sometimes. I did not care where we went as long as it was west, out of DW, and towards are final destination. Got to our final destination about 3 hours later that originally scheduled.

 

We live in the snow belt. When we fly to get a cruise we always leave two days early. Never, ever same day. And we avoid snow prone connections such as Denver, Chicago, Minneapolis, etc.

[Azulann]

When booking a flight in the winter from MSP with a connecting flight, I go through Atlanta with DL. I also always book the earlist flight of the day from MPS and know the later flights that day for my connection or destination.

so far I have only been delayed on my way home but then I do not care. My vacation is over.:)

Edited February 6, 2016 by Azulann