Seems that over the airport-closed-due-to-weather holidays, the savviest travelers skipped the lines and used twitter and facebook to find the next flight out — and they got out faster. Here’s a tutorial on how you can do it next time…
Find yourself stranded in the airport after the great blizzard of 2010? This weekend is calling for another storm, so if you’re traveling, take a tip from the tech-savvy generation and this time hit the laptop rather than your cellphone when your flight is canceled. “While the airlines reservation lines required hours of waiting” if people could get through at all ” savvy travelers were able to book new reservations, get flight information and track lost luggage. And they could complain, too,” according to this article by The New York Times on the blizzard in December. How? By direct messaging on Twitter and Facebook. Though many airline Twitter and Facebook pages say they can’t directly respond to your questions through their social networking sites, we understand it’s definitely worth a shot.
Here’s how (hopefully) to get results faster than calling — not to mention skipping that annoying song rotation while on hold:
ON TWITTER:
1. Log into your Twitter account.
2. Go to “Find People” in the top toolbar.
3. Type the Twitter name of your airline from the list below in the top search bar.
4. Follow the Airline’s Twitter page.
5. Click “Messages” in the top toolbar.
6. Click “New Message.”
7. Type your airline’s Twitter name next to the Twitter bird on the form.
8. Type your message (140 characters or less) and wait for a response!
Twitter Names of popular airlines:
Delta Airlines:
@DeltaAssist
Virgin Airlines:
@VirginAtlantic
United Airlines:
@UnitedAirlines
American Airlines:
@AmericanAir
Jet Blue:
@JetBlue
Southwest:
@SouthwestAir
Continental:
@continental
ON FACEBOOK:
1. Log into your Facebook account
2. Search for your airline by name
3. “Like” the airline so you can communicate with them directly.
4. Post on their wall (or direct message if possible) and wait for a response!
You can do this on your smartphone as well as your computer. No Guarantees! If you’re not-so-digitally-savvy, we suggest you print this out and keep it in your computer bag or wallet.
Give it a try!
Modesta@snoety.com
