Originally Posted by btonkid12345

OP - this is exactly why you should always go to the airport - local agents have the local knowledge. But you are asking them nicely for help - you should never demand anything from them when it is not their fault that the passenger is late.

For a similar situation in the future: call in before departure and inform them of the delay. Specifically ask the agent to leave a note in the record of the issue, so the airport can verify you called before departure.

Never ever buy a new ticket. It will be impossible to refund the old one. Nicely work with them, and they will usually find a way to make the existing reservation work.

The son you refer to probably could have flown out that night. Many others may have been late for flights or not shown up (like he did), and they could have cleared him onto one of these flights that same night at the gate, off the standby list. Again, airport agents can scan flights for misconnects or availability and work with the passenger.

Finally, forget the idea of getting a local number to call. They won't give it out (I've gotten the LAX number once because of a serious DL issue that was their fault - and after that 1 call, they told me to forget the number and never call it again LOL). There is a reason all phone traffic is diverted to reservations - the airport agents are there to help passengers at the airport. It wouldn't even make sense for them to rebook you over the phone, even if you had the local number, because they won't know what flights you can actually make until the passenger physically presents themselves at the airport!