Airline schedule and passenger service roulette

Our transportation system has deteriorated to the levels of the most undependable third-world countries. The USA that once prided itself on on-time transport by air and rail, has slipped into a worsening spiral of abysmal service and schedules that aren’t worth the paper on which they are printed.

We all realize this fact in general, but when it hits you on Monday morning checking in for an early-morning flight returning to work that you need to be on time, the US transportation mess gets personal. And the state of customer service is just as catch-as-catch-can as the airline timetables.

There are ways around the system, but it is a shame that airline passengers are forced to maneuver, plead and plead again to get the service that they should get automatically.

Here is how it played out:

5:15 a.m. — checked in electronically for a Delta flight from Boston to Washington Reagan and found out that the scheduled non-stop 6:45 a.m. flight has been changed in my record to a flight departing at 9 am, connecting in LaGuardia and arriving in the early-afternoon.

5:20 a.m. — called Delta reservations to see what can be done. They informed that a voice mail message was sent late yesterday advising of the change (I was asleep). The reservation agent claimed that the only flight that can be confirmed is a non-stop leaving around noon. I asked whether the ticket can be re-booked on American, United or US Airways who also fly the BOS-DCA route. She says no.

5:30 a.m. — raced to the airport. Waited in line, but decided to call while in line to check about getting the flight changed again. While waiting in line the telephone reservations agent told me that Delta could make a reservation on a United/US Airways flight that leaves at 8 a.m. I was told to wait in line and that the ticket agent would re-issue my ticket. All goes well.

6:20 a.m. — changed terminals to reach the US Airways gates and went through security. Of course, because the ticket was now a one-way ticket from Boston to DC, I got the dreaded SSSSS and had to go through secondary screening. (That eliminated the possibility of trying to fly standby on the 7 a.m. flight.)

8 a.m. — My flight takes off.

Reservations agent roulette
If I had accepted the first telephone reservations agent’s claim that the only flights available were a Delta flight at 8-something that was overbook (but I could stand by) or the 12-something flight that could be confirmed. I would have missed my morning meeting in DC.

If I had accepted the first telephone reservations agent’s claim that there were no other flights on American, United or US Airways that were available, I would have been stuck at in Boston possibly until noon.

Only by being persistent and calling back several times was I able to reach DC just a little after 9 a.m. and make my meetings.

After checking with friends who have access to real-time flight loads, I learned that American and US Airways had availability the entire time. If I had been able to change my reservations over the phone, I could have caught the 7 a.m. United/US Airways code-share flight and arrived ahead of schedule.

I guess Delta is encouraging telephone agents to just say, “No, no, no and no again.” I really cannot understand that when an airline, through their own fault and decisions, cancels a flight, they do not do more to help those they have inconvenienced.

Thankfully, I know the rules and I know that getting tickets endorsed over to another airline is allowable between the legacy carriers and several others. I know that there are multiple legacy carrier flights between Boston and DC. I called again. This time, the second telephone agent helped me. From that point on, I knew that I would be able to be at my desk in DC at a reasonable hour in the morning and my meetings, set up to start after lunch, would not have to be scrapped and rescheduled.

Other times when dealing with telephone reservations agents, I have had to call back three and four times to get to an agent who was interested in helping. It is a question of reservations agents’ attitude. Passengers are gambling that they reach a reservations agent that is in a good mood and willing to help rather than one who is not interested in exploring solutions. That is a shame.

Lessons learned
!. Unfortunately, one can no longer depend on airline schedules. On some days only around 50 percent of several airlines’ flights depart on time. Don’t bet on an on-time departure.
2. In this day and age of third-world service, cut your vacation short and get home a day early.
3. Never take the first, or second, advice from reservations agents.
4. Realize that getting customer service is a form of service roulette. Keep calling until you get some kind help from telephone reservations agents. Go back in line and go to a different check-in agent if trying to get service at the airport. At the very least ask for a supervisor and go through your problems with them. They have more latitude in dealing with your problems and coming up with creative solutions.
5. Keep calling, even when waiting in line for an airport customer service representative. It is a good bet that the problem may be solved by the telephone agent before reaching the counter and then the counter agent can get the right paperwork in your hands.

As the say in Vegas, “Good luck.”