Travel tip of the week: Ask and ye shall receive

Last week Delta was having equipment problems and had to swap out planes which delayed my flight and caused me to miss my connection.  Weather caused all other viable flights to my destination to fill up meaning I had to wait a day or fly into another airport.  I managed to rattle off close airports (it took a few) and eventually found a seat to get me where I needed to go.  I figured I would just take a cab the remainder of the way, but this airport had no cabs waiting and the shuttle service was not answering their phone.  I managed to snag the last rental car available.  Apparently someone named Michael Jackson hadn’t shown up for his car so I got it.

Now since the reason why I missed my flight was an aircraft swap it was considered within Delta’s control.  I faxed supporting documentation to Delta and I will be reimbursed for the rental car fee.  If you have a weather delay usually the case is different since no one can control the weather.

The other tip in this is to always know if there are other viable options.  I got rebooked in the Sky Club, but even the agents there may not have perfect US geography.  I was able to state 3 different airports within 90 miles of my destination and thanks to that the agent was able to find me a flight.