How to Talk to a Real Person on Your Airline
Have you tried talking to an airline support representative lately? A complete storm of post-pandemic demand, scheduling changes and staff shortages has resulted in frustrated customers waiting on the phone for hours to speak to a real person. Fortunately, there are methods that can speed up this process, especially if you know how to use the automatic telephone lines of airlines. Here’s how you can shorten your waiting time.
Know how to navigate telephone lines
Glasses Guy has a complete airline-to-airline guide on the best way to find a live agent on the various airline automated customer support phone lines here . Many support lines are voice-based, and in most cases the fastest way to reach a representative is to say “existing reservation” or “reservation” multiple times when prompted. Also, keep your booking or frequent flyer number handy as this will help speed up your call.
Delta, American Airlines, and United Airlines’ support lines also offer a call back option whereby a representative will call you back at specific times during business hours within seven days. By some estimates , this is a quick and convenient option.
Use social media as a last resort
If you are not contacting support, submitting a complaint to Facebook or Twitter can also help speed things up. Just remember that these are public forums, so you should not share your booking number or other personal information unless you are in a private chat with a support representative. Also, keep in mind that some companies are better at responding to complaints on social media than others, and that some are more likely to respond to Facebook than Twitter (Clark.com has a good breakdown of that here ).
Finally, if you are truly desperate and on the advice of The Points Guy , consider contacting the customer service at the airport itself. It will be painful to drive there just to talk to the ticket agent, but it can take less time than waiting on the phone for hours, especially if it’s an urgent matter.