Air travel often goes well, but when it does not you need to be ready to step in. Even if you don’t sell air, it is essential to do whatever it takes to ensure that your clients’ trips go as smoothly as possible.

The Wrong Gate

I had clients traveling via Amsterdam to join a tour in Africa. They had booked the air themselves using miles for one ticket and paying for the other. They called me from the airport saying that the airline had texted them that their flight to Amsterdam had been canceled and that they were rebooked on a much later flight, which would cause them to miss their connection. They raced to the gate and switched to an earlier flight in order to make their connection.

I looked at the original flight to see why it was canceled and was surprised to see that it was boarding at a different gate. I called my clients who went back to the airline and were put back on their original flight.

Human Error

Another couple booked their flights for their European honeymoon using miles. Several weeks before departure they called in a panic because the airline had notified them about a schedule change. The time change was only 30 minutes, but the airline rescheduled them for a month later than the flights they originally booked.

The carrier insisted the couple made the change. I worked with an airline contact to correct the mistake and we determined an airline employee had manually changed the dates.

Clients for Life

First-time clients were on a flight that was diverted to another airport, about two hours away from where they were supposed to land. The airline said it was arranging bus service to the original destination, but my clients weren’t having it. By the time they cleared customs, I had a car and driver waiting to take them to a train station.

They were en route to their original destination in less than an hour and I got the cost of the rail tickets reimbursed by the airline. And now I have clients for life. Experience with and knowledge of air travel helped me solve these problems.