Apr
14
Too sick to fly? 4 tips on how to change your flight without incurring fees
Filed Under Image & Brand, Travel
If you have ever been too sick to fly, you have probably figured out that the airline do not have much simpathy for you. According to most airline’s terms regardless of the reason, you must pay a change fee and / or pay the difference in ticket price if you want to change flights. Therefore I thought you might find the MSNBC.com article Flying sick? 4 secrets for surviving your trip by Christopher Elliott interesting…
1. Don’t give up
It may not be necessary to change your ticket or buy a new one. Despite what the offshore phone operators may tell you in barely understandable English, your airline has some compassion. Just not in that particular department, maybe. A doctor’s note and a polite letter to the right department may encourage your airline to do the right thing. I also list the names of higher -level customer service managers on my Web site. Appeal your case to them, if necessary.
2. Show up and let ’em see you
If you plead your case at the gate, while you’re coughing and wheezing and bleeding out the eyes, your airline might see things your way. Gate agents screen passengers to make sure they’re airworthy, and can disqualify them for anything from smelling bad to being too drunk. You remember the TV show “Airline”? Well, if you’re too sick and a gate agent makes that determination, chances are you’ll be put on a future flight without having to pay extra. It might be worth the trip to the airport.
3. Argue your case
An airline lets itself off the hook when it can’t fly because of what it calls a force majeure event — something beyond its control. For example, if there’s a thunderstorm that prevents it from operating its planes safely, it isn’t obligated to compensate you for the delay or to pick up your hotel expenses. Why shouldn’t the same standard apply to you? (Answer: it should, of course.) An airline shouldn’t be able to apply one set of standards to itself and another to its passengers. And they know it.
4. Get help
In the unlikely event that you’re staggering around the gate in a fever-induced delirium, while an airline employee insists you either board the plane or lose your fare, you can try two Hail-Mary strategies to convince them you should be allowed to fly once you’re better. First, you can inform the passengers around you that you’re ill and ask them if they want to breathe the same recirculated air for the next five hours. I guarantee they will become forceful advocates for your cause. Second, you could phone the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. See how they feel about having a sick person on a flight.
