Stranded and Bored

I arrived at Washington Reagan National Airport last evening and was told my flight would not leave for at least 3 hours due to storms. I did not want to wait but kept my patience and killed time for hours on end until the storms finally moved out and our flight was boarded and eventually took off.

Here is my question: If I would have gone to customer service and asked to be rebooked for the next day, because I did not want to wait out the weather delay, would they rebook me for no cost just to have one less angry customer waiting for the flight to eventually leave. I had no bags and was traveling on a cheap economy class ticket.

How much of a delay would allow interested passengers to rebook for the next day without a fee or additional fare?

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

There is no one stock answer, it could depend on the airline, your level of status and the agent involved. In general, for a delay of three hours unless it would involve you missing a connection and getting stranded somewhere in your journey probably not. But it would not hurt to ask, particularly since you will be waiting around for three hours with little to do.

The other part to this equation is likely you would only be allowed to go standby, which would mean sitting around the airport tomorrow trying to get a seat on a flight. And of course, it would get even more complicated if you then had to standby for a connecting flight. There might also be a fee for going standby.

cordelli

Welcome to Flyertalk.

The answer is it depends on just about every variable. The airline, the agent, your status with the airline, if the airline has issued a travel waiver or not because of the storms, the class of service, the fee paid, etc.

I would say it doesn't hurt to ask, but if they only offer stand by and a flight gets canceled, they will rebook all those people into the next day's flights and standby may not be any fun.

Often1

You didn't provide the carrier, destination or flight #, but xDCA, it's a good bet that if there are WX delays, seats to wherever you were headed were scarcer than hens' teeth. The biggest issue isn't whether the carrier would have rebooked you, but whether it could have rebooked you.

If you do seek rebooking, you absolutely have to be proactive and tell CS what you want. If you simply ask and they do it, it will inevitably be the worst routing imaginable because they will save the better routing for somebody who asks.

emma69

It's worth a shot - I know airlines will say yes sometimes, but won't pay for a hotel etc. I think asking for exactly what you want "could you rebook me on the 10am direct flight tomorrow instead" perhaps with a bit of research on your part (seeing how full each of the next day's flights are), pointing out no checked luggage etc. would be the way to go, otherwise you could be trading sitting around for 3+ hours that evening, for sitting around for the same the next day.

I will add that it is often easier to call the customer service line for some airlines, and ask them to assist with a change than to bother the already stressed out grumpy GA dealing with 100+ delayed passengers, especially if you have status.

Often1

+1 - Let me also suggest that this is where the corporate TA and 24/7 coverage comes in handy. It's great to call somebody, tell them your problem, let them work it out and then call/email you with the solution while the airport is nuts. Sometimes there's only 1-2 tix or maybe the carrier needs to overbook by 1 more. Time is of the essence and if you've got the ticket, all you need to do is walk over to the new gate and collect a BP.

Ancien Maestro

Welcome to FT!

Add me to those who agree to.. just ask.. can't hurt..

Without asking, the airline staff have no clue that this option would be acceptable to any passenger.. they would just assume passengers, ir the option is available.. would make their way to the GA and ask if they can get rebooked..