Help - missed flight!

December 31, 2008 4:15 AM

Missed my flight and can't afford a new one - What are my options?

So, my brother was planning on leaving Amsterdam with AirLingus/United Air tonight when, just a second ago, he realized that actually the plane had already left this morning. So, he missed it. Anyway, what are the options? Is there anything he can tell the airline that would get him out of this situation and save him some or all of the price of a new ticket? Any ideas are appreciated!

Thanks

posted by mateuslee to travel & transportation (13 comments total)

he should go to the airport immediately and plead stupidity or something else... illness? emergency? chances are they MIGHT let him fly standby for free on the next available flight.
posted by zia at 4:20 AM on December 31, 2008 [1 favorite]

Who did he buy the ticket through? Directly or through an agent? If through an agent, call them. If directly, call AL/UA. They'll work surprisingly hard to get you on a standby flight or to change your flight -- you'll rarely have to pay the price of another ticket.
posted by suedehead at 4:29 AM on December 31, 2008

(Oh, but you may have to pay some airline change/transfer fees.)
posted by suedehead at 4:30 AM on December 31, 2008

@ sudehead: he bought the ticket through orbitz...
posted by mateuslee at 4:47 AM on December 31, 2008

Many airlines will let you trade in an unused ticket for a ticket on a different flight -- you may have to pay a transfer fee, but that usually isn't much (not that it'd only be three dollars, but it'd be less than the cost of a new ticket).

This kind of thing happens a lot -- people get caught up in traffic, get confused about the date, get held up at security, get unexpectedly sick, etc. People miss flights. Airlines are equipped to deal with this kind of thing.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:51 AM on December 31, 2008

He should:

1. Look online to see what the next available flight is.
2. Call the airline (ideally the desk at the airport) immediately and see what they can do.

He should be ok, but he should act fast.
posted by lunasol at 5:42 AM on December 31, 2008

... it was a low-budget flight, LingusAir, so seems there are no options... bummer.
posted by mateuslee at 5:46 AM on December 31, 2008

You should still be able to drive to the airport and talk to the agents working there in person. They'll probably just put him on the next flight. This kind of thing happens all the time.
posted by damn dirty ape at 6:40 AM on December 31, 2008

I had to pay £60 to change to a new flight in AirLingus, so YMMV.
posted by Memo at 7:02 AM on December 31, 2008

Oh, man I did this once in London, I have never, ever felt so stupid in my life. Good times.

I got to Heathrow about 14 hours after my flight left, went to the Air India desk, turned on my acting chops and started spinning a tale of how my friend got hit by a car on the way to Heathrow, so I had to go to "hospital" with her, so I missed my flight, and oh my god, i have to get back to America, my mother is waiting for me at LaGuardia, boo hoo, fake tears and everything.

The nice ticket lady worked her magic for poor me, and I got on the next flight to New York - in first class. Heh.

(My mother has never forgiven me, and this was 17 years ago. Pre cell phone. She thought I'd disappeared in Europe).
posted by tristeza at 8:29 AM on December 31, 2008

It happens. Sometimes it's your fault, sometimes it's beyond your control. I travel a lot now, and have done a fair amount of arranging business travel for ridiculously helpless bosses in years past - maybe you're brother's already gotten his situation sorted out, but for posterity here is my cheat sheet for what to do if you can't get on any flight for any reason (all the way from you overslept to you got trapped in a burning subway car to the flight was canceled):

1) Immediately look up the next flight going from wherever you are to where you're going. You're most interested in flights on your original airline, but it's handy to know options from their partner airlines, too (for example, United can often book you on US Air flights). If you can get to other airports in your area, check flights out of those - and flights into alternate destination airports. I have a membership to OAG, which handily shows you all flights on a given day, but FlightStats or even Kayak will do in a pinch. It is useful to know the airport codes for the areas, and not just for individual airports - for example, searching flights out of WAS (Washington) rather than just out of BWI, DCA or IAD will get you results for flights out of all three DC-area airports. Or click the "search nearby airports" button. Make a note of the flights that work best for you.

*note - you don't have to do this, especially if you're in a hurry or without internet access. But there have been a lot of times when having the research done already made agents much more willing to help - and a couple times when I was able to say, "I know you have X, X, and X flights; can you please check availability?" rather than just swallow a surly "Nothing we can do, book a new ticket".

2) If you're at the airport, head to the desk. If you're inside security already, there should be at least one special services airline counter in one of the terminals somewhere; ask a gate agent. If you're still outside security, go to the special services desk at the check in/ticketing area. If you're trying to get around a plane cancellation or delay, the lines inside will be very long as hundreds of others in the same situation try to deal - proceed to step 3.

3) If you're not at the airport, or even if you are but the lines are slow, call the airline, just their general contact number. Ask to speak with an agent right away.

4) In person or on the phone, explain your situation like this:

• Say you were unable to board your original ticketed flight, but still need to get where you were going ASAP. If it was canceled or is unacceptably delayed, say so. If it was your fault, don't explain why - they won't ask. But if you volunteer that you overslept or got high or whatever, they'll be much more likely to apply a change fee.
• Once they've got your original reservation looked up, let them tell you the options. On a busy airline, they will usually tell you that they've got a couple upcoming flights you can try standby on, and some upcoming flights you can get a confirmed seat on. Never, ever fly standby if you can help it - flights are so full now that ticketed passengers get bumped. If you chance standby, yes there is a chance you will get on a flight - or you might get stuck in an endless round of running from gate to gate just in time to hear the agent say the flight is full (took me a long time to learn that lesson). If you want, you can get more info by asking how many people are on the standby list ahead of you. But in general, "confirmed seat" are the magic words.
• If one of the confirmed seat flights works for you, yay! If none of them work, start asking about your other options: I usually ask the agent to check other airports first, then other airlines. Somewhere, something will work for you.
• It can get complicated here. If it's just a different flight on the same airline, usually you can just get a new boarding pass (if you're inside) or check in as usual (if you're outside). If you need to go to a different airport, you need to arrange that - if it wasn't your fault, ask about the possibility of transportation vouchers. If the new flight is on a different airline, ask very carefully who you need to check in with, and what information they need - sometimes it's a flight coupon issued by one that the other honors, sometimes you need to go to the other airline to have a seat assigned, sometimes from that point they'll send you back to the original airline to have your ticket released, etc. etc. It's better to ask straight away and make sure you know what you need to do.
• Be prepared for extra screening at security any time you have a changed flight plan - the patdown and wanding and explosive sniffing and all that. The idea is, get things moving as quickly as possible after you realize you're not going to be on that original flight; be proactive. It often means calling even from inside the airport - this has gotten me into the air while others on a canceled flight were still waiting in line. Be very polite and friendly, and helpful with your already-researched information. Most of the time, just dealing with someone who isn't hyperventilating or screaming will encourage the agent to be as accommodating as he or she can.

posted by peachfuzz at 9:34 AM on December 31, 2008 [24 favorites]

Peachfuzz has it. Especially the last paragraph.

Chances are he'll have to pay a change fee for his forgetfulness. Happens to us all at one time or another.
posted by arcticseal at 10:23 AM on December 31, 2008

I've had a flight problem with Aer Lingus (It means Air Fleet in Irish Gaelic) before. They would only let me on another flight after I paid a change fee and the difference in price between my original ticket and the new ones.

I chose a third option and flew from Barcelona (where I was stuck) to Brussels for 3 days before heading back to Ireland. This was cheaper than changing my Aer Lingus flight.
posted by knapah at 12:04 PM on December 31, 2008