Originally Posted by
txtxyeha
What are the first three things one should do if you think you will miss your connection?
What are the first three (five?) things one should do if you missed your connection?
What pushed this miss connection over-the-top is he had to gate-check his bag on the first flight, thus wasted ten minutes waiting for his bag to be delivered to the jetway. Should he have abandoned his bag on the jetway with the strong assumption that ultimately it would have found it's way to the final destination (i.e., a $75 delivery fee would have been cheaper than a hotel room)?
The first thing you should do if you think you will miss it is call the airline and make arrangements assuming you will miss it. Sometimes however, airlines will insist that you
actually miss it before they change anything. Depends on the airline. I recommend calling over standing in line with some agent at the airport. Calling is usually faster, you can do it sitting down, and you usually get a better option. However, you have to be SURE you are going to miss it. Once I got stuck in traffic, and was absolutely certain I was going to miss the flight by at least 45 minutes. I got on the phone with the airline while on the shuttle, however I was on hold so long that I made it to the airport by the time someone picked up. And by then I was in the terminal, saw the board, and realized that my flight was 3 hours delayed so I was not going to miss it after all. Had I gotten someone earlier, I may have cancelled a flight I could have actually made and not known it.
If you have missed it already, make arrangements for the next flight if you haven't already. If that's not going to be that day, get a hotel and food voucher (if the fault is the airline's..if it's yours or tough crap). Remember also that if the airline is part of a carrier alliance, you may get out on another partner carrier. You may also be able to catch another flight from a nearby airport and you can even get the airline to foot the transport between airports. For example, LAX or BUR, ORD or MDW. If you missed the connection but your bags did not for some reason, get the number of the luggage office at the destination airport so you can begin to make arrangements for your luggage to get picked up later.
Don't forget to contact all people and organizations that were expecting you. For example, your hotel..if you miss the check-in day, they may cancel your entire reservation. Rental car companies too. And whomever was going to pick you up at the airport. It helps to do this after you have made your flight arrangements so you have a specific time they can update to.
Be prepared to lose whatever booked seat you had, and to end up on standby.