[joezydeco]

I've done a fair bit of domestic (USA) flying over the last six months and when flights are spontaneously cancelled for weather/staffing/crew timeouts/random apocalyptic actions, a phone has been priceless in getting quickly rebooked and out of the trouble zone. Even if that means cancelling the flight and buying a ticket on a different airline (looking at you, AA)

You do not want to spend an hour in the customer service line to find out that all open seats on the next flight out were scooped up 59 minutes ago.

[gib444]

I'm sad we've just accepted that no useful staff at the airport is an acceptable state of affairs.

They're full of outsourced agents whose contracts are very specific and don't include things like assisting customers during IRROPS, as I understand it. Or they have their hands tied by the airlines

I'd like government intervention now that the free market has failed - there is almost no choice you can make that offers real customer service

[joezydeco]

There are physical staff at airports, but you can't have 40 agents standing around at each counter waiting for the next disaster to arrive and help with rebooking. So you hire two per counter. But that means when something comes up, everyone is stuck in line for hours to get help face-to-face.

[gib444]

I didn't say there is no staff. I said "useful staff" and then clarified I meant staff empowered to help during IRROPS. But I appreciate this is about the US and most of my experience is in Europe. I guess things aren't so bad in the US?

In my experience in Europe, there are very very few staff who can help, except at major hubs. Even then, if you've not got high status, you won't get much help.

> but you can't have 40 agents standing around at each counter waiting for the next disaster to arrive and help with rebooking

That is the exact excuse they used to reduce the empowered agents to 0