Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan - Kudos to AS CSR!

We had a Jan. flt. (BOI-LAX-PVR) that had connection changes leaving us only 35 min. in LAX to catch a flt. to Puerto Vallarta. Leaving from BOI in Jan. is very dicey with fog and snow. This made me very uncomfortable. I called a CSR and asked if we could be switched to a flt. that gave us more of a chance to make our connection. She spoke to a super. and switched us from BOI-LAX-PVR to BOI-SEA-PVR. This way we have a 60 min. connection instead of only 35 mni. We feel better and were very thankful.

Thanks AS customer service. :)

Phil

We had a Jan. flt. (BOI-LAX-PVR) that had connection changes leaving us only 35 min. in LAX to catch a flt. to Puerto Vallarta. Leaving from BOI in Jan. is very dicey with fog and snow. This made me very uncomfortable. I called a CSR and asked if we could be switched to a flt. that gave us more of a chance to make our connection. She spoke to a super. and switched us from BOI-LAX-PVR to BOI-SEA-PVR. This way we have a 60 min. connection instead of only 35 mni. We feel better and were very thankful.

Thanks AS customer service. :)

Phil

May I ask why you purchased an itinerary with a 35 minute connection time in the first place if you were so concerned about the possibility of not making it? Was it "buyer's remorse" or was there a schedule change which caused the closer connection? If the former, then I applaud the rez agent and supervisor for understanding that sometimes we humans make mistakes when booking online and appreciate the help in correcting them. If the latter, not to downplay the excellent service you received, but they didn't really do anything over and above what they are supposed to do when a schedule change creates a hardship.

Slightly OT but I once booked a ticket on (gulp) US Airways (post merger but prior to the disasterous system integration) because of a last minute trip I had to take and the fare was signifigantly lower than AS or any of it's partners. I was unfamiliar with the website and when I hit "buy" I realized that I had goofed and chose the wrong combination of flights for the return itinerary I wanted. I immediately called rez and got a completely un-sympathetic agent in India (I think) who refused to change the itinerary unless he charged me the $100 fee. The supervisor (who was in Mexico, I believe) was not willing to budge either. As a long shot I called the HP rez number and reached a sympathetic ear in Las Vegas. It was my lucky day because she had literally just completed cross-training on the US rez system. A few moments later my ticket was changed, no fee, and I even received an apology for the delay while she logged out of her HP system and into US. I offered to write a letter to HP in appreciation of her excellent service but she asked me not to because technically she wasn't really "authorized" to waive fees on US issued tickets. It's a sad world we live in when a letter of praise can result in a reprimand.

May I ask why you purchased an itinerary with a 35 minute connection time in the first place if you were so concerned about the possibility of not making it? Was it "buyer's remorse" or was there a schedule change which caused the closer connection?

I should have mentioed it was a schedule change. The original connect time was 3 hrs.+. AS didn't HAVE to accommodate me because 35 min. is a legal connect time. But, they could have given me cheaper (for them) routing that would not have been as desireable for me.

Phil