Inflation, the weather, and the storms: What to do when you can’t fly without paying? A comment on CNN-Newton
The weather is bad. There were computer problems. Staffing shortages. There were too many flights. Inflation. The holidays are upon us and there is a lot of holiday crunches. Air travelers have had a tough time for quite some time.
And the year is going out out as rough as it came in with a massive winter storm that made travel the week heading up to Christmas Day an extremely cold, frustratingly messy affair for many.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/what-to-do-flight-canceled-delayed/index.html
How to Find Cheap Flights? A Keyes’s Comment on What to Do if Flight is Cancelled Delayed or Arrived Late
When there is a forecast of a weather event, Scott Keyes, the founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights said. The early birds have the best choices of the remaining worms (that is seats and flights).
It is a great idea to find out from the comfort of your home if the flight has not arrived by the scheduled time or if the flight is canceled.
“Check your flight status before you go the airport. Keyes said that most of the notifications are not happening at the last minute. “You should drive to the airport.”
You can also put your airline and flight number directly into a Google search bar to retrieve the status that way. That’s also handy for friends or family who are on standby to pick you up.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/what-to-do-flight-canceled-delayed/index.html
What to do when you arrive first? A key word: Arrival first, not waiting, and how to make a first choice for your next trip
There is a key word here. It’s going to make a difference who arrives first. It’s first come, first serve. Positioning yourself close to the desk can pay off,” Keyes said.
If you’re waiting, you might want to call your carrier. Depending on your spot in line, it might be faster to get through to a call center. He said, “Anything that happens first, great.”
“Most US-based travelers aren’t thinking to call the Canadian help line for Delta. You might get through to an agent much quicker. They can all handle your reservations just the same.”
You can also American Airlines says . “Scan your boarding pass or enter your record locator to see your updated trip details. From there, you can switch your flights and print new boarding passes.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/what-to-do-flight-canceled-delayed/index.html
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“Honey attracts more flies than vinegar,” Keyes said. “Look at this from the airline agents’ perspective. Since the beginning of the Pandemic, they’ve been dealing with angry customers. The agent has the most power to help you.
He had another tip when it’s your turn to talk to an agent about making new arrangements: “Come prepared to offer your own options already. Doing your own research is helpful.
Your agent can expedite things if you’ve already looked up new routes and possible suggestions while you’ve been waiting. Be ready to explain what you want.
If the price is the same, Keyes suggested you book directly with the airline. It’s much more complicated if something goes wrong when you booked through a third party.
The group also backs up the advice from Keyes to be nice and polite to agents but also says consumers should be persistent in trying to get the situation resolved satisfactorily.
“When flights are canceled, many airlines have the option of putting you on another carrier’s flight because they have interline agreements,” Lousson Smith, product operations specialist at Scott’s Cheap Flights, told CNN Travel in June 2022.
If Delta is having service interruptions but American is still running a flight, you may be able to get on that flight.
“If you don’t get accommodated on a later flight and book a new ticket out of your own pocket, you will get a cash refund, though that may not help you get to where you need to go,” Smith said. “As we all know, last-minute flights are very expensive.”
According to an airline customer service dashboard created by the Department of Transportation, nine of 10 of the major airlines that operate in the United States — including American, Delta, United and Southwest Airlines — can offer complimentary hotel accommodations for any passenger affected by an overnight cancellation or delay under certain circumstances. Frontier Airlines does not.
“The good news is that many credit cards offer travel protections such as reimbursement if a flight cancellation forces you to get a hotel, meals, etc.” Smith said. “These travel protections are typically included automatically as long as you used the card to pay for your flight. If you want to see what your card has, you may want to consider using a credit card that has travel protections.
It said “most travel insurance policies provide additional cover for travel uncertainty. If your flight is delayed more than 12 hours due to a strike, adverse weather or a mechanical breakdown, you will get additional coverage.
What is a Significant Delay and How to Request a Refund? A DOT Analysis of Southwest’s Disappearance from the Complete Meltdown
But keep it to the basics. You are unlikely to get money back for purchases such as alcohol or extravagant hotels, since airlines only pay for’reasonable’ expenses.
This is the policy no matter what happens to the flight. What qualifies as a “significant delay” remains open to interpretation.
According to the DOT website, “it has not specifically defined what constitutes a ‘significant delay.’ There are a number of factors that can affect whether or not you are entitled to a refund. DOT determines whether you are entitled to a refund following a significant delay on a case-by-case basis.”
Relief is still a few days away for passengers booked with Southwest Airlines this week, as the beleaguered airline continues to grapple with what US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has referred to as a complete meltdown of the system.
Out of the 2,714 cancellations already made for Wednesday flights within, into or out of the United States as of 3:15 a.m. ET, 2,504 of them are operated by Southwest, according to flight tracking website FlightAware . The airline has canceled more than 2200 flights for Thursday, according to the website.
Buttigieg says he spoke directly to Southwest CEO Bob Jordan on Tuesday about the thousands of flights that have been canceled this week with no immediate indication of when passengers can rebook.
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“I made clear that our department will be holding them accountable for their responsibilities to customers, both to get them through this situation and to make sure that this can’t happen again.”
Long lines of travelers attempting to rebook or make connections were witnessed at Southwest ticket counters at multiple US airports on Tuesday, while huge piles of unclaimed bags continued to grow as passengers struggled to reclaim their luggage in airports including Chicago’s Midway International, Harry Reid in Las Vegas and William P. Hobby Airport in Houston.
There was a passenger that talked to CNN at the Atlanta airport about what it was like to travel for five days after disembarking from a cruise ship.
Jones said that they were able to rent a car so he could go to see his family for Christmas in the bay area. “We’ve seen a lot of families who are sleeping on the floor, and it just breaks my heart.”
He added: “It is frustrating for the pilots, the flight attendants and especially our passengers. Our hearts go out to all of the passengers of Southwest and we don’t want to apologize anymore.
Chris Perry, a Southwest Airlines spokesman, said that the airline had offered vouchers in some cases, but that it was encouraging customers to file receipts for reimbursement requests. Southwest didn’t have a specific dollar amount to give regarding what a reasonable reimbursement would be.
Buttigieg told CNN the Department of Transportation is prepared to pursue fines against Southwest if there is evidence that the company has failed to meet its legal obligations, but he added that the department will be taking a closer look at consistent customer service problems at the airline.
“While all of the other parts of the aviation system have been moving toward recovery and getting better each day, it’s actually been moving the opposite direction with this airline,” said Buttigieg.
While Jordan acknowledged problems with the company response, the statement suggested that he did not foresee massive changes to Southwest’s procedures in response to the mass cancellations.
According to Jordan, we need to double-down on our already-Existing Plans to upgrade systems for these extreme circumstances so that we never face what’s happening right now.
When is Southwest Airlines Open? Managing Southwest Airlines’ Customer Service Hotline “Shortly afterward”, said Kyle Potter, Chairman and CEO of Scott’s Cheap Flights
“First thing first, travelers who are still stuck on Southwest and need to get somewhere should try to book a flight with another airlines as soon as possible,” wrote Kyle Potter in an email to CNN Travel.
The odds of finding a seat in a crowded plane are smaller by the hour, Potter said, as every airline is jam-packed.
“Travelers in the thick of this should be sure to save all their receipts: other flights, a rental car, nights at the hotel, meals, anything,” Potter said.
If you’ve been left in the lurch and your efforts to reach a customer service agent are going nowhere, the founder of Scott’s Cheap Flights suggests trying an international number.
“The main hotline for US airlines will be clogged with other passengers getting rebooked. If you want to speak with an agent quickly, you need to call every international office of the airline.
“Do what you have to do for your family and keep your receipts, if you’ve already left,” McVay said. “We will make sure they are taken care of, that is not a question.”
The problems facing Southwest were the worst disruptions he’d experienced in 16 years at the airline, according to the vice president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association.
Our IT infrastructure for scheduling is vastly outdated and that is what went wrong. It can’t handle the many pilots and flight attendants that we have in the system.
“We don’t have the normal hub the other major airlines do. We fly a point-to-point network, which can put our crews in the wrong places, without airplanes.”
Reimbursements to Southwest Airlines for Cancellation Disruption Policies in the Two-Melt Skyrmion System
Cancellation policies differ among airlines and can depend on a number of factors. Some airlines will give a travel credit that can be used in the future, instead of cash.
After canceling thousands of flights this week, Southwest Airlines said it would “honor reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel, and alternate transportation,” without specifying what amount would qualify.
“Requests for reasonable reimbursements directly related to the travel disruption will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to support the customer, including meals, hotels and alternate transportation,” Mr. Perry said. It was not clear how long the reimbursement would take to be processed.