I know the idea of flight cancellations can trigger the gag reflex in many folks. And lots of travelers hate the idea of calling and speaking with airline customer service staff. But I have to put in a good word here for flight cancellations and even for at least some airline staff.
I have always looked at flight cancellations and schedule changes as an opportunity, rather than something to dread.
Today my belief in the magical power of flight cancellations was firmly reinforced.
We are headed for Easter Island in the Fall. I had booked flights from home (Seattle) to Santiago, Chile (we have separate tickets for the Santiago-Easter Island flights). In my case our flights are all award tickets, paid for with frequent flyer miles, but the experience is equally valid (in fact, even more so) for tickets purchased with cash (traveling on award tickets sometimes puts you at the bottom of the priority list). I got (what I believe to be) a killer deal, flying all the way from Seattle to Santiago, mostly in business class. The flights I booked were efficient (pretty direct routing, but with two stops) and were mostly in lay-flat seats so we would be able to get good sleep on the way. I figured we were set.
Last night I got email from United with a new ticket itinerary. Fair enough, I thought: I booked the trip 11 months out, schedule changes happen all the time. Our original flights included one segment in coach (SEA-LAX), which is a fairly short hop, so nothing to grumble over (at the price I paid). But United apparently cancelled that leg, and put us on the next flight, 2+ hours later. That flight would arrive after our connecting COPA Airlines flight in LAX departed (all booked on one ticket, COPA is a United partner). So that wasn't going to work.
I went online to united. com and looked at all the ways they could deliver us to Santiago that day. There were dozens of options. All of them were expensive (way more than what I paid). But once there has been a schedule change, the cost of the ticket is no longer your problem - it's the airline's task to deliver you, and as I know from previous rounds of this dance, front-line customer service agents are typically empowered to do what they must to get you where you're going. So I found a dozen better options, wrote down all the details, and called.
I explained the situation to the agent. He agreed that the substitute flight offered was not workable. He said he would look for something better. I stopped him and said that I had already done some research and I had a suggestion for a replacement routing that we would prefer, and offered to give him the flight details. He said "sure" and I did. He put me on hold.
Our original flight was cheap (80,000 miles). That flight had two stops, three legs, and all were in small-ish or very small narrow-body jets (nothing larger than a 737). One leg in coach, two legs in business class, United and a partner airline. The routing I asked for as a replacement was "better" in my view: just a single connection, no coach segment (domestic First connecting to international Business class), on larger aircraft (so the "business class" seats would be even better for sleeping). I had already checked, and to book THAT routing, United would want 240,000 miles per person - three times the 80K that I had paid. So admittedly, it was a bit of an ask (though I did ask nicely...).
I was on hold a while. I'm guessing that the agent had to get approval from a supervisor to allow him to rebook me into a higher-cost and significantly better flight. He came back and said "you're all set." I thanked him, and it was done.
Lesson learned, and reinforced: Don't panic when you get a schedule change/cancellation. Do your homework and find something even better. Don't worry about what the cost looks like. Note details. Call them. Be nice.
Ask for what you want. You will often get it.