18 Nisan 2011 Pazartesi

Welcome Airline Flexibility

A canceled United flight has a happy ending

Yesterday, I wrote about a decidedly unpleasant experience (not mine) that involved a stunningly unsympathetic and inflexible cabin crew that refused to permit an economy passenger with a "bathroom emergency" use the front-cabin lav. Today, I can report on a surprising example of airline flexibility that made a travel experience (mine) go more smoothly than I would have expected.

I am attending a conference in New York starting on Monday, and thought that while I was in this part of the country, I would squeeze in a visit to cousins in Maryland. I was flying United to Newark and intended to take Amtrak to Baltimore. I left Boulder in the snow and arrived at Denver International in the rain. When I checked in, I was told that my 10:55 flight had been canceled, but that there was another at 12:55, and was directed to the "cancelled flight" counter. I explained my plans and asked the counter agent if it would be possible to reroute me to Baltimore, which is where I was going.

In checking with her supervisor, she said that I had been rerouted "through Chicago -- tomorrow." Ohmygosh. How inconvenient! The supervisor approved my one-time courtesy itinerary change, without a fee,to a flight departing at 11:00 -- five minutes later than the original. It's not the kind of response I've gotten accustomed to at United, but I was really happy, especially when I arrived at BWI some three hours earlier than I anticipated. And....when I called Amtrak to cancel, they credited my charge card -- without penalty and no questions asked.

So thanks, United, and thanks, Amtrak.

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