Anyone who flies knows there is always the possibility of a canceled flight that can leave you stranded in a strange city, and/or keep you from getting where you need to go, when you need to be there. This is the kind of situation that causes people who are normally unflappable to have a complete meltdown. My theory is it’s best to be prepared for the worst, but expect the best. How do you prepare for this? One way is to have on hand the phone numbers of several airlines and hotel chains so you can make arrangements on the fly (no pun intended) if needs be.
Last year, a companion and I were flying home from Nashville when the mother of all winter storms hit the eastern half of the country. The weather was beautiful in Nashville, but our layover airport, Dulles, had closed. The quick-thinking counter agent got us onto a flight to Chicago instead, where we knew we would be stranded until at least the following day, when he had booked us on a flight to Burlington. (At the time, I thought it would be preferable to stay in Nashville another night, but apparently we stood a better chance of getting a flight to Burlington from Chicago the following day than we did from Nashville.) Before we even left Nashville, we called Marriott and booked a room at the Chicago Airport Marriott, so we would have a place to stay. When we landed in Chicago, we were very glad we had done so. We passed stranded masses standing in line praying for a standby flight and sprawled on the floor trying to sleep. We spoke with people who had been trying to get out of the city for days. We, on the other hand, grabbed a shuttle to the Marriott, got a good night’s sleep, had a few good meals, spent a day as tourists in Chicago, and returned to the airport the following night for our flight out, which was only delayed by a couple of hours. To some degree, we were very lucky, and to some degree, we made our luck.
Here are some phone numbers you should have with you in case of times like these. If you are not already a member of these hotel chains, I recommend you go to their websites and sign up. It’s free, and it really makes a difference.
Hotel chains:
Marriott 888-236-2427
(Marriott, JW Marriott, Courtyard by
Marriott, Fairfield Inn, Residence Inn,
Ritz-Carlton, SpringHill Suites, etc.)
Starwood Hotels 888-625-5144
(Sheraton, Westin, St. Regis,
W Hotels, Four Points, etc.)
Hilton 800-445-8667
(Hilton, Hampton Inn, Doubletree,
Embassy Suites, Conrad Hotels, etc.)
Choice Hotels 877-424-6423
(Comfort Inn & Suites, Clarion,
MainStay Suites, Sleep Inn, Rodeway
Inn, etc.)
Intercontinental Hotels Group 877-424-2449
(Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza,
Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites)
Airlines:
AirTran 800-247-8726
Alaska Air 800-252-7522
American Airlines 800-433-7300
Continental Airlines 800-523-3273
Delta 800-221-1212
Jetblue 800-538-2583
Northwest Airlines 800-225-2525
Southwest 800-435-9792
United Airlines 800-421-4655
USAirways 800-428-4322
Virgin Atlantic 800 821 5438
