Miles for Adventures

My airline customer service experiences

I just finalized my itinerary for my upcoming international trip, and boy was it a challenge...I waited on hold for over an hour with Aeroplan today and over 2 hours yesterday.

So that motivated me to share the best and worst airline customer service interactions that I've personally experienced. Buckle up, because some of these might even make your blood boil.

Negative Experiences

Turkish Airlines

Turkish used to have some really amazing deals - saver United awards anywhere in the US (including Hawaii and Alaska) for just 7.5k miles one-way. I used these all the time back in the day, especially for last-minute travel. But their websites glitched all the time and I ended up having to either email the ticket offices or calling in to book tickets.

The phone agents are...well...useless would be an understatement. Some don't understand what Star Alliance is, some try to price two flight instead of a layover, some just don't know what points are. But the best one I ever had was an agent that tried telling me the only way to go from BOS to JFK was through IST. My record for one ticket booking was 12 phone calls. TWELVE. To book a one-way United flight from ORD-LAS...

Air Canada

While I absolutely love the Aeroplan program and how valuable it can be, I've always waited more than 30 minutes to get an agent on the phone (longest I waited was 4.5 hours to rebook a delayed flight to China). Worst yet - the callback feature isn't offered unless it's midday.

The most interesting facet of this program though is that Air Canada and Aeroplan customer service don't play ball with each other. Multiple times I've called one number and been directed to call the other.

In 2023, I booked an award ticket on Air Canada for my parents between AKL-YVR-LAS. When the flight got cancelled, Air Canada told me to call Aeroplan to rebook, but Aeroplan claimed the flight wasn't cancelled. I got so frustrated that I just called both numbers and made both agents speak directly with each other in a three-way call to fix the glitched ticket.

American Airlines

Though AA used to operate separate call centers for elite members, most calls are now routed to one central queue, prioritized based on status. Since 2019, I routinely waited 2-3 hours to get an agent to change my ticket in 5 minutes. However, I will say the callback feature might just be the best out there. Instead of having to wait on hold for 3 hours, I can just tell the system to call me back when ready.

But their ground customer service is probably the most frustrating in my experience. The agents are great, don't get me wrong, but the system bugged out so many times that I wish I could just directly type my query into the GDS to fix it every time.

In 2024, I had a flight from LAS-PHL-BOS was cancelled, so I was rerouted in First Class through MIA. But when I got to MIA, I missed my connection, a hurricane was on its way, and the next available flight was 2 days later.

I ended up working with the counter agent for 3 hours to rebook me through CLT and PHL, reroute my checked bag, and snag the last blocked seat on a flight to PVD instead. Instead, my checked bag took quite the journey from LAS-MIA-ORD-CLT-JFK-BOS...

Pro tip: the BEST AA agents are always the Twitter support team, so give them a shout if you need something complex taken care of.

Positive Experiences

United Airlines

When my flight was cancelled a few times, United's app automatically rebooked me and provided an updated itinerary within minutes, all without agent intervention. United has also recently removed airport customer service desks in favor of a centralized support line. The idea is that issues at one airport wouldn't overwhelm resources at that airport, but rather pooled resources can all help support with issues anywhere in the country. United also provides many avenues to reach out to agents:

When heavy wind disrupted most of United's operations in Denver, I figured the wait for customer service would be hours long. To my surprise, I was connected to a live agent on video, rebooked for that evening, and added on standby for the earlier flight, all within 15 minutes!

Delta Airlines

Of all the US airlines, I've found Delta agents to be the most knowledgeable around. I've run into some really complex issues and have never had any problems with them understanding exactly what needed to happen. I can even use advanced industry lingo, and they understand every word ;)

While I flew to Iceland in 2024 from Boston, my parents flew there directly from Las Vegas. On their return, their Delta plane suffered a mechanical failure and was grounded until a part could be flown the next day from MSP. With no available hotel rooms, they spent the night on a hotel floor. While the parts did arrive the next morning, the delays kept adding up and it was clear to me they risked missing their connection in JFK for a second time. I got on the phone with Delta, and within 25 minutes, they rebooked them on a flight an hour later with Icelandair through Denver and connecting onto United that same evening. The best part? Delta refunded their whole ticket and still paid out EU261 compensation for the issues!

#storytime #thoughtsofD