Here’s What You Can Do When Your Flight Schedule Changes to Get You Home as Quickly and Cost Effectively as Possible
You booked your next business trip.
Your bags are packed. The travel itinerary is ready. An airport pickup is reserved.
You head to the airport ready to board and then you hear those dreaded words: “schedule change”.
Here’s What You Can Do When Your Flight Schedule Changes
No one likes to have a rescheduled flight. However, you need to take charge and be proactive when this happens. Check out what you can do when your flight schedule changes in order to get home as quickly and painlessly as possible.
What Type of Flight Schedule Change?
First things first. What type of schedule change is the airline making? This should be the first thing you find out so you can evaluate how, and if, it will affect things such as your airport pickup car reservation. There are three types:
- Minor change
- Significant change
- Cancellation
Options for Flights When There Are Delays
You should know that you have a choice when you experience flight schedule changes. For a minor delay, your best bet is to just remain on the same flight. Often a minor delay can be recovered during the flight.
For some airlines, if the delay is by 60 minutes or more from your departure time, you can change your flight for no charge. You’re also eligible for a refund which normally comes in the form of a voucher. Your options are very much airline dependent, so be sure to review your tickets Terms and Conditions. You can also speak to an airline representative, but probably not the gate attendant. They will have limited information as they are being harassed by other inconvenienced travelers. If you are a frequent flyer, try calling your frequent flyer card’s phone number and discuss your options with them.
If there’s a flight cancellation, you may be able to save money by not taking the airline’s alternate flight. Check the prices of a new flight. You may want to take a refund and then schedule a new flight on another airline.
Flights Postpone for Severe Weather
What if there’s a flight schedule change due to weather? Severe weather happens and schedule changes can occur as a result. When the weather delay is due to weather at your origin or destination, we recommend staying put until the weather clears. Another flight, or flying into a nearby airport, would probably be affected by the same weather. You may end up being more delayed than initially on your scheduled flight, or over-booked on a flight that everyone is trying to transferred to. If the weather delay is due to weather conditions at a connecting hub, you can try to find direct flights, or a flight that goes through a different hub. Unfortunately, you may find that these other flights are suffering through delays, due to the redirected flights and the delays compounding at the airports.
Contact Your Car Service Immediately When There are Any Flight Delays
Your Driver’s Unlimited Car Service is watching your arriving flight so we can adjust our driver’s schedules. A flight delay requires our driver to be on your call a lot longer than we planned, so the next reservation has to be modified. When delays or cancellations happen, you need to contact us right away to let us know your plans, otherwise your driver will head to the airport as scheduled and wait for your delayed flight. You can then expect to be charged wait time fees. Unless we hear from you, we do not know if you have caught an alternative flight. The last thing we want is for you to arrive at your destination after a stressful flight and not having a car available for pickup. Be proactive and keep an open line of communication with the car service to ensure you have a driver when you need it and not paying for excessive wait times.
You should contact your car service as soon as you’re aware of the schedule changes. Let them know whether you will be canceling the pickup, changing pick-up locations or simply delaying the pickup time.
Know the Terms and Conditions of Your Reservations
You probably have reviewed the terms and conditions of your flight purchase. When you’re preparing your travel itinerary, you should also review your airport car service terms. For example, with Drivers Unlimited, you should allow at least one hour notice of changes to avoid cancellation or wait time charges.
If you don’t contact your car service in time, the driver will be on their way to pick you up and you will be billed for the driver’s time. Even though our car service monitors your flight, you should still be proactive and contact us with any flight schedule changes.
Book Your Car Service Today for Your Next Flight
It’s important that you know you have options when you experience schedule changes. We will work with you to make sure that after a stressful flight you have a car available for pickup.
Do you want to reliable transportation to pick you up from the airport? Of course, you do. Rest assured that our professional staff will monitor your flight status and be prepared for any itinerary schedule changes you may experience.
Contact us today for a free quote or to make a reservation.
