FINDING THE FLIGHT THAT SUITS YOUR TRAVEL SCHEDULE

Finding the flight that suits your travel schedule and making reservations for it are often among the most frustrating aspects of planning a trip. There may be many departures to choose from, but what happens when the perfect one - the one that will make your travel dreams fall into place - has no available seats? The person taking reservations may offer to put you on a waitlist. If so, what does that mean, and will you get a seat?  Airlines keep waitlists of passengers who want reservations once all the available seats in any class on a particular flight have been reserved. Rather than being open-ended, however, waitlists are limited to a pre-determined number of passengers on any flight, usually no more than 20. If the person taking reservations informs you that the waitlist for a particular flight has already been closed, resign yourself to taking another departure.

Although there's no extra cost to be added to a waitlist, it's a privilege generally reserved for passengers flying on full-fare tickets only, not for discount fares. Also, to be listed for their first choice, passengers must actually book a seat on a suitable alternative and buy a valid ticket, thus demonstrating their commitment to fly. If a cancellation happens to come in for their preferred flight, passengers on waitlists are offered the seat on a first-come basis.  Several factors determine your chances of eventually being cleared in advance for the flight you want. The destination of the flight is important, as is the time of year and even day of the week. Flights to hot vacation spots, for example, often have seats come available several weeks before departure, since tour groups book blocks of seats far in advance and often adjust their anticipated seat allotments downward as flight time approaches.  Even if no seat becomes available before the flight, passengers on waitlists still have the option of showing up for their first choice departure to see if all passengers with seat reservations actually claim them.  Each airline has an established hierarchy of boarding preferences. Most carriers give priority boarding status to emergency travelers, VIPs, members of their frequent flier club, as well as passengers who are mak ing connections. Passengers on waitlists have priority over standbys, those who arrive at the airport with no reservation at all.  It's also possible to be placed on a waitlist for a better seat category, say from coach class to business. But don't get your heart set on moving up to first class, at least not before you get to the airport. Airlines don't overbook first-class, and last-minute cancellations are few. Clearing a waitlist at the airport for an international flight is also relatively rare.  But even if a passenger with a ticket is not officially on a waitlist, he or she still has a chance to get on the plane.  "Merkle's law" is an unwritten principle of expediency followed by many harried airline gate agents. It's named for the veteran United Airlines employee who first observed that "a problem passenger no longer in front of you is no longer a problem."  Airline gate agents do have a lot to say about which passengers get on any particular flight. In general, the airlines prefer to have each flight fully booked, rather than flying with empty seats, and a passenger leaving on an earlier flight creates another seating possibility on a later one. If your flight plans get off track, look for a gate agent who follows Merkle's law. You may discover that some seemingly inflexible airline regulations can be bent.  For example, one flier we know bought a nonrefundable ticket, which according to the airline's own regulations, should not have been valid for any flight other than the original one. At the last minute, however, he realized he had to leave early Monday morning instead of afternoon, as scheduled. He called the airline on Sunday evening, but was informed that, even though plenty of seats were available for the morning flight, his ticket would not be valid, even as a stand-by.  Undaunted, he showed up the next day at 8 a.m., flashed his ticket and frequent flier card, and asked to be put on the first flight out. His ticket was accepted, and he was boarded without question. Why? "Merkle's law."  The gate agent was willing and able to bend the rules a bit just to get him on a flight and out of her hair. So there's no telling what situation may arise if you're holding a valid ticket and are willing to submit yourself to the mercy of the gate agent.  Rather than depending on this tactic, however, it's best to invoke "Merkle's law" in emergencies only and to do it with a friendly smile. After all, you'll catch more flights with sugar than you will with vinegar.


[Back to Articles Main]