With Atlanta’s snow and sleet behind us, many weary travelers whose flights were canceled are getting back in the air Thursday and on to their destinations.
But airlines’ work to rebook passengers begins days before a storm ever hits.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and Dallas-based Southwest, the two largest carriers in Atlanta, start planning in advance of storms and issued “waivers” before the storm hit, encouraging travelers to reschedule their flights to travel to their destinations before or after a storm without a change fee. Getting the waivers out early enough allows some travelers the chance to fly a day earlier than scheduled so they can be in place before flights are canceled.
Airlines years ago began “proactive cancellations” of flights, to better enable them to prepare for a storm, keep travelers from going to the airport, and to allow them to better plan for how to recover back to a full operation.
Delta started planning about three-and-a-half days before the storm this week, issued the waiver and began canceling flights in advance of the storm, according to spokesman Morgan Durrant.
As flights are canceled, a proprietary software system referred to inside Delta as “VIPER” communicates with other systems, including the airline’s booking system. The booking system shows what flights are available, and VIPER runs a query to figure out what itinerary can get each customer to their destination in the last amount of time.
Shortly after VIPER launched in 2013, Delta CEO Richard Anderson told employees, “Our goal is to get [customers] to their destination as soon as possible.” The system also recognizes and transfers “special service” remarks made in reservations for things such as wheelchairs and re-assigned seats, he said.
In the case of a storm in Atlanta, many who were scheduled to connect in Atlanta are simply rerouted through another hub. If that’s not possible, VIPER “really comes up with some interesting routings,” including connections at cities that are not Delta hubs, Durrant said. If there is still nothing available on Delta, VIPER will look to other carriers that the airline has relationships with for re-accommodating passengers.
Then, VIPER communicates the new itinerary to Delta’s customer notification system, which can e-mail or call each customer with the new itinerary using contact information Delta has on file from the customer. But travelers who book flights through online travel agencies like Orbitz may not have that information on file. Those customers can file their information with Delta separately, or check online to see if their flight was canceled and what their new itinerary might be.
But the new itinerary may not fit a customer’s schedule or needs. That’s when phones ring at Delta call centers, and complaints often light up Twitter about long wait times on hold. Durrant said travelers can handle their re-booking online or request a call back, though some customers may have an urgent need or complex itineraries that require a conversation.
All told, more than 500 Atlanta flights were canceled Wednesday, with about 100 more Delta flights canceled Thursday morning, and Durrant said he expects customers to be re-accommodated by the end of the day Thursday.
