Still no luck? Don’t fret. Ask the airport phone representative about partnerships with other airlines. One of these partners might be able to accommodate your travel plans. Some agents may claim they can’t spend time to do this, but this is usually a cop-out to keep money in their pockets.
You’ve been hording frequent flyer miles to profess your loyalty, so the airline should try every possible way to show theirs.
Ask for the person in charge of unblocking seats--the supervisor. An additional tip: be polite. A little sugar can, at times, get you where you want to go.
But if the honey doesn’t stick, be persistent, stay positive and move on. This next step is a tip from Peter Greenberg, the travel editor of the Today Show. I worked with him on a book called the
Travel Detective not too long ago. It was a best seller, and this tip is one of the reasons why.
Here’s were your computer comes in handy. Search for the flights on expedia.com, orbitz.com or any similar web site. Pick a flight you would like to take and click on the seating chart to see the available coach seats.
If there is more than half a dozen empty seats, you could still get on that flight. Call the airline. You already know that you can’t get a frequent flyer flight in two weeks, so ask for the next available flight that you can redeem your miles. Even if it is four months away, book it.
On the original desired departure date, go to the airport early with your e-ticket confirmation in hand. Ask the agent at the checkout counter if they could change your flight. If there is a seat available, you’ll fly standby for a change fee (usually $50 for domestic and $100 for international flights).
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