The 9-hour wait: Here’s why airline hold times are so bad – TPG
This doesn’t exactly crack the case, but that’s because only the airlines know exactly what is causing the long hold times. For us at Cranky Concierge, Delta has been the standout, as I mentioned when being interviewed for this article. But every airline has seen an increase.
Cranky on the Web: Long Hold Times
5 comments on “Cranky on the Web: Long Hold Times”
I don’t have much sympathy for the airlines on this one.
The surge in travel demand was going to happen as mandates and infection rates improved.
None of them had any trouble adding P2P flying for the summer. They could have been adding agents as well.
A pet peeve of mine is the future flight credits vs certificates. But that’s a different post.
It’s interesting that airlines were able to be nimble when it came to changing routes (drastically) and cutting back on flights. However, they seem to have waaaaay underestimated the pace at which travel would return once government-imposed restrictions on travel were dropped. Now we’re in a situation where airlines find themselves with too few flights and full planes. And, insufficient help to staff call centers – apparently. Here’s the thing that smells fishy about this: I have a feeling that airlines don’t mind this at all. Fares have shot up and utilization is high. Competition will inevitably correct this, but in the meantime they’re going to enjoy charging $450 for a R/T between ORD and PIT in economy (non-refundable).
And the projections we’ve seen about demand not returning back to previous levels until the likes of 2023 or 2024 look to be a joke. Domestically, demand is spiking. Once international lockdowns and travel limitations are dropped, that segment will take off too. And it won’t take 2-3 years for that to happen.
The hold time at Delta has been ridiculous, even during the pandemic. Similar hold time at Air Canada as well.
I wonder how much an agent at an airport can help in this process? Do the airlines allow agents at the landside desks to assist in making these changes, rebookings, etc? I have flown Spirit a few times out of FLL, and have purchased tickets in advance at the airport to save on their online fees.
I haven’t flown since 12/18, so I am not really up to date on current protocols.
TC99 – Airport agents can definitely help.