Have you ever been in that heart racing moment of running through an airport, not really sure if you’re going to make it? Then you get to the gate and your worst fear has happened… they’ve shut the door. Now what?!
That’s what this post is all about! Come see how to handle your missed flight in as much ease as possible.
We are notoriously late to flights, not always our fault something crazy usually happens to cause a slow down. Whether it be sickness or traffic jam, being pulled over or the long term parking lot being closed down; we’ve been in many circumstances that have made us rethink this whole “world traveler thing.”
We have only missed one flight though. It was maybe the most frustrating situation we have ever been in together. One thing after another just kept going wrong, like we weren’t meant to be on that particular flight. And after being randomly selected for a security screening and still being there 20 minutes before take off, the customer service rep had “already done her count,” and couldn’t let us on, so therefore we missed our flight back home.
So what is the best way to handle missing a flight? What should you do? Here are our tips for keeping calm in this particular hectic situation.
First and foremost look at the schedule boards
See if there are any flights heading to your same city that day. Our hometown happens to have two airports so we have double the odds for this, but chances are another flight is going to the same city you need to be in.
If you do find a flight going to your city, find out the cheapest way to get your ticket.
Desk, phone and Internet don’t have all the same prices, even in the last minute. In our case we missed our 5:42pm flight and found one leaving at 6pm. We were on a bit of a time crunch; therefore online was not an option. So as one of us asked the desk, one of us called customer service to see which would give us a cheaper price. Turns out in our case it was by phone, of course, the slower method.
Always look at nearby city airports too if you have a ride or can afford a bus or taxi.
Maybe you cant find one into the exact same city but you can in a nearby city. Check those too. If you’re not on a time crunch you can probably find a ride back to where you’re going.
STAY CALM
We easily get frustrated with poor customer service because we have been in the customer service business and understand, but also understand empathy.
Guess what we realized though. No one cares if you missed your flight… No matter the reason, it’s not their problem. Some people can whine enough that they’ll get a discount on the next flight or a voucher depending on airline but sometimes you’re in a hurry and a last minute ticket won’t be expensive if the flight isn’t full. One guy even told us he missed his flight once and a really generous airline let him on the next flight for free (we weren’t that lucky).
If all else fails:
Go to the general reservation desk and they can see all airlines and departure dates/times, normally these representatives will be happy to help.
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