inFLIGHTout Travel Tip: Program Airline Phone Numbers

Be sure to program your cell phone the phone numbers of airlines you frequently fly.

In the event your flight has a last minute cancellation or significant delay, you can immediately call the airline for rebooking on alternate flights. Use this method while concurrently waiting to speak with an airport gate agent. If several people are impacted by the cancellation or delay, your wait to speak with a gate agent may be quite long.

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip: Program Airline Phone Numbers

What's worse than showing up at the airport and finding out your flight has been cancelled? Realizing you will be competing with up to 200 other people from your flight trying to get rebooked as well. Everyone has a story: "We're on our honeymoon," "I have a business meeting to attend," "I have elite status," and the list goes on. At the customer service center in the airport, everyone lines up in proper form, hoping for the best - expecting the worst, to find out whether they will even fly out today.

The key here is to have your situation looked at before the others. Call it selfish, if you must. But there are a limited number of seats and trying accommodate a full plane of customers from a cancelled flight onto later flights can be a challenge. Here is what you can do to improve your chances of of a desirable outcome:

Program airline phone numbers in your mobile phone. (Go ahead and do this now, I'll wait). This way while you are standing in line at the customer service/rebooking center, you can concurrently call the airline. By the time you hang up the phone, many of your fellow passengers may still be in line awaiting their fate.

inFLIGHTout Travel Tip: Airline Phone Numbers

Be sure to program the phone numbers of airlines you frequently fly. In the event your flight has a last minute cancellation or significant delay, you can immediately call the airline from your cell phone for rebooking. Use this method while concurrently waiting to speak with an airport gate agent. If several people are impacted by the cancellation or delay, your wait to speak with a gate agent might be quite long.

Passengers Are Not Happy With SFO

According to a recently released J.D Power and Associates airport survey, San Francisco airport was ranked second to worst in terms of customer of service, among the 20 largest airports in the United States. The annual report ranked the airports based on passengers’ online responses to six factors: airport accessibility, baggage claim, check in/baggage check process, terminal facilities, security check and food and retail services.

San Francisco airport officials say these findings conflict with other research which gave SFO a 4 out 5 in terms of customer satisfaction . Read more from the S.F examiner.