After I wrote my post “Booking A Flight In a Time of Uncertainty,” I knew it was bound to bite me. Sure enough, it happened yesterday when Midwest canceled one of my flights this summer. Though that’s a big deal to me, you guys probably don’t care. But there were a couple of things that I found during this process that I thought might be worth writing about.
It started just after lunch when I simultaneously received an email and a recorded phone call saying that there had been a schedule change and I needed to call Midwest to be reaccommodated. Uh oh. Since they said I had to call to be rebooked, I knew what that meant. My flight was toast.
I called the airline and had to wait for a full 10 minutes before someone answered to rebook me. Unfortunately, our redeye from LAX to Milwaukee has disappeared, so they offered to rebook us on a morning flight with a) a four hour connection in Milwaukee or b) an overnight in Milwaukee. Um, no.
So, I quickly went online while I sat there weighing my options and noticed that there were alternatives that were actually cheaper than what we originally paid. I told Midwest I wanted a refund and they obliged. Then I rebooked on Northwest (I know, I said not to do that in my post, but it was convenient). Now, we’ll get to our destination a little earlier and we’ll save $160 between the two of us. That brings me to my two points.
- Since I had to wait for 10 minutes on the phone with Midwest, something tells me that our flight wasn’t the only one that was canceled. Anyone have any details on what else might have quietly been cut out?
- Why the heck have fares gone DOWN for a flight this summer?!? That is definitely not a good sign for demand trends. I mean, I’ll gladly take it, but I certainly would have expected to pay more. Airlines cannot afford to be lowering fares right now.
Hopefully these flights won’t be canceled on me, but in this environment, who knows. At least I’m not flying Silverjet.
