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Want to avoid Alaska Airlines' 8+ hour hold time? Severe cold weather, from blizzards to ice conditions, have delayed airlines this holiday season, with Alaska Airlines one of the worst affected: 515 flights, or 64% of Alaska's schedule, were cancelled yesterday, December 23, and another 179 flights (22%) were delayed. Meanwhile United cancelled 16% of its flights and delayed 50% of flights, while Delta cancelled 13% and delayed 50%, and American Airlines cancelled 13% of flights and delayed 44%.
Unfortunately not everything can be changed or resolved online. While we often recommend calling an airline's international call center, this works better for airlines such as American or United; Alaska only has a domestic call center, so this strategy doesn't work. And while social media, especially Twitter, can sometimes get faster help, our tweet to @AlaskaAir last night has gone unanswered. Nor is chat currently working. What to do?
Texting Alaska Airlines at 82008 this morning was faster, although note that the estimated wait time was wildly off. Texting just after 7am today we were given a 14 minute estimated wait time, yet we only heard back from an agent at 8:45am. Still, 1 hour 40 minutes with no hold music is better than 8 hours in phone hold hell.
Just keep in mind that text agents aren't able to help with any partner award tickets, only Alaska metal.
What's your experience getting a hold of Alaska Airlines or another airline recently due to weather-related cancellations and delays?
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