Social Media Rage for Fliers Experiencing Hours-Long Hold Times
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The winter storm and resulting snowfall accumulation from Texas to Long Island, N.Y., has crippled air travel and produced excruciatingly long telephone wait times for people whose flights have been canceled or changed.
Almost 6,000 flights have been canceled in the United States since Wednesday.
Fliers forced to endure long hold times have taken to Twitter to vent their frustrations, with many reporting wait times of more than three hours. A Kansas woman was reportedly put on hold for six hours by American Airlines earlier this week.
Dallas-Fort Worth airport has the most flight cancellations so far on Thursday, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. DFW is the hub for American Airlines.
“We apologize for the frustrating experience. The past week has been very challenging due to extreme winter weather impacting the Dallas-Fort Worth area as well as the Northeast,” American Airlines spokesman Matt Miller said in a statement to ABC News. “We have seen extended wait times in our reservations system and social media channels as we work to rebook customers. We are working to re-accommodate everyone as quickly as possible based on their individual travel plans.”
American currently has travel policies in place covering 24 airports, including Dallas/Fort Worth, Philadelphia, New York and Washington.
All other airlines also have flexible travel policies in place for fliers whose plans are affected by weather. Policies allow for changes and refunds, even on nonrefundable tickets.
Here are some tips:
- Check online for flight status rather than calling the airline.
- If your flight has been canceled and you’re in no rush to rebook or want a refund, wait until Friday to call the airline.
- Use social media, especially Twitter, to contact your airline, but keep in mind those channels are also flooded with requests.
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