Like the rest of the world, I’ve been watching in horror as the best laid plans crumble around me.
I’m not a good planner, but I enjoy the anticipation of coming events. I hate surprises because I get twice as much enjoyment planning for and just thinking about something coming up. For example, I’ve been excited about the 2020 Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop since the minute I hugged Kathy Kinney goodbye at the airport after the last conference in April 2018. That conference, originally slated for early next month, has now been postponed to Halloween.
I’m also still hopeful about a trip to Italy in July for one of Brian’s cousin’s weddings. But I’m not holding my breath.
Like the rest of my jet-setting brethren, I’ve spent a good portion of my time waiting to speak with airlines this week to find out my options.
What I did while on hold with Delta
Delta was kind. When I called, they said the wait time was approximately 239 minutes, and they offered an automatic callback when I was next in line. I managed to get a lot done while waiting 2 hours and 18 minutes for Delta to call me back mid-chiropractor appointment.
- Got out of bed
- Brushed my teeth
- Went to the bathroom
- Got dressed
- Fed Nia
- Took Nia outside
- Played with Nia
- Shared a photo on Instagram for the Disneybound Challenge
- Went to Panera
- Ate a Souffle from Panera
- Drove to the chiropractor
- Got a chiropractor massage
- Had stim and heat treatment
What I did while I was on hold with United
United said my wait time would be more than 90 minutes, and then made me listen to their airline hold music for 71 minutes before anyone answered the phone. Then they placed me on hold for another 30 minutes while they changed my ticket. For funsies, the agent also told me that there were, at the time of my call, 4,560 other customers on hold. Here are all the things I’ve done since dialing the phone number for United (1-800-864-8331).
- Got out of bed
- Brushed my teeth
- Went to the bathroom
- Designed an outfit for the March Disneybound Challenge
- Got dressed
- Made French toast and sausage for Brian and myself
- Ate said French toast
- Did my morning stretches
- Played with Nia
- Fed Nia
- Took Nia out to the backyard
- Talked to Brian about my canceled conference
- Fucked around on Facebook
- Wrote this entire blog post
Airline policies in light of the Coronavirus pandemic
Just to give you a little help if you too need to change/cancel your flights, here’s what I know. I still have to call Southwest, but I can only handle so much elevator music in a single day.
United
United is waiving all change fees, including the fee to upgrade your nonrefundable basic economy fare to a standard economy open ticket that must be booked within a year from the purchase date. You will still have to pay any difference in price that comes with a standard ticket compared to your basic economy ticket. If you manage to find a flight with a standard ticket price lower than your original ticket, you’ll receive a travel voucher in the amount remaining for a future flight.
Delta
Delta is currently waiving change fees for all flights through April 30, and international flights to affected countries (Italy, China, South Korea) through May 31. Any flights booked March 1-31 will also have waived fees if you need to change your flight. When I called about my July flight to Rome (booked through Delta, but flying Air Alitalia), they informed me that I had the same waived change fees as those with flights earlier…so know that despite what is published online, your mileage may vary.
