Airline customer service agents share their top holiday travel tips

For airline customer service workers, the holiday season serves it all: festive music on a loop, stressed-out travelers and, occasionally, movie-worthy triumphs.

You might go see an airline agent if your flight is delayed or you need help with a seat assignment. Maybe you want to make an earlier flight, need to scramble after a cancellation or request a food voucher if you’re stuck at the airport.

For the next couple of weeks, you’ll probably see their desks packed. The trade group Airlines for America expects 54 million people to fly on U.S. airlines between Dec. 19 and Jan. 6.

“This time of year, things really get a bit hectic,” said Gina Ricci, an American Airlines customer service coordinator at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. “We get a lot more inexperienced travelers, so they need a lot more assistance.”

Sean Huster, United Airlines’s director of customer service at Washington Dulles International Airport, said his team’s goal during the holidays is to “de-stress the customer’s travel experience.”

“One thing that we want them to know is we want to get them to their final destination as much as they want to get there,” he said.

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Airline employees with roughly 80 years of experience between them shared their top tips for smoother holiday travel with The Washington Post.

Airline apps beat waiting on hold

One big takeaway from customer service workers is that you might not need to speak to customer service live. In many cases, travelers can avoid a long airport line by using their airline’s app.

Devorice Moore, a Delta customer service expert known as a “Red Coat” who is based at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, said travelers who miss a flight can rebook themselves by scanning a QR code that’s displayed at gates and around customer service desks.

If a flight is canceled, Ricci said, American’s system will try to rebook passengers automatically and update them in the app.

“You might see that you’ve been rebooked and you don’t even have to see anyone,” she said. “If you’re good with that, you can just go to the gate.”

Huster said that if travelers sign in to United’s app and make sure their flight information is entered, they will get notifications on delays, gate changes and boarding times. In case of delays or cancellations, the app can offer alternative flights and deliver food vouchers electronically. Travelers also have an option to chat with a United agent on their phone or do a video call.

If people have more complex questions or are sorting logistics for multiple travelers, a representative can help.

Technology can be your friend,” Huster said. “If you’re not in that space, we have a great customer service team who can answer questions.”

Do one last passport check

Almost everyone knows to bring photo identification for a flight. But if you’re traveling abroad and need a passport or visa, make sure you have them on hand - and make sure they’re current.

Ricci recalled one family in recent years that had plans to go to London for Christmas.

“When they checked the passports, they must have checked [only] the adults’,” she said. “When they got to the airport, the kids’ passports were expired.”

Adult passports are valid for 10 years, but passports for kids under 16 are only good for five. Even a passport that’s too close to expiring can get you in trouble.

Make your carry-on unique

If you’d be lost without some items you’re bringing on a trip - passport, important paperwork, medication - keep them close by, in your carry-on or personal item.

And, Huster said, take steps to make sure that carry-on doesn’t roll away with someone else.

“A lot of roller bags look alike,” he said. “Have something that identifies your carry-on item. Customers are wanting to get off [the plane]; they have places to go. Hopefully mitigate any incident where a customer may grab the wrong bag.”

Gift-wrap presents after landing

If you’re packing a gift in a carry-on or checked luggage, think gift bag instead of wrapping paper, Ricci said. That way, if Transportation Security Administration officers need to take a closer look, “they don’t have to unwrap your present.”

For checked bags, using an AirTag is a better idea than ever, since many airlines are now allowing passengers to share location data in case luggage is lost.

Huster suggests bringing a source of protein, a granola bar or a holiday-appropriate snack like his favorite, peppermint sticks. The airport is a “stressful environment,” he said. “Sometimes you need something that’s your comfort go-to.”

He said it’s also important to keep hydrated while traveling. Ricci noted that bringing empty bottles to fill at water fountains after security could save you money, too.

Try to stay on the nice list

Moore said most travelers are “nice and festive.” But sometimes the stress takes over.

“A lot of times when they’re letting their stress out on you, you’ve just got to let them vent it all out,” Ricci said. “Once they get it off their chest … it tends to de-escalate after that.”

Ricci said customer service workers may try to relax a passenger with humor, and sometimes fellow passengers can help.

Just last week, she said, a nervous and stressed woman was “yelling at everybody about everything” before a flight. Ricci tried to reassure the customer that everyone would arrive at the same time and it would be okay. Other travelers joined in to encourage her.

“She did calm down,” Ricci said. “Her stress level might have gone down a bit.”

Huster urged holiday travelers to follow the “golden rule” and treat others how they would like to be treated, even as he acknowledged that passengers would be traveling on essentially full planes at a high-stress time of year.

“We ask that all customers treat everybody with respect, and we will make it through this holiday,” he said.

Make time to enjoy the decorations

If you’re still feeling holiday vibes, it’s worth exploring whatever special events or decorations an airport might be offering.

Ricci said that in the terminal where she works at JFK, there are Christmas trees of various sizes and holiday music that’s been playing since right around Thanksgiving. It also has photo stations made to look like a snow globe, a gingerbread house and a candy cane house.

“It’s kind of cool when you walk by and you see the passengers - they’re in there, they’re taking selfies or pictures of other people,” she said.

Share your gratitude

Ricci said some especially challenging moments bring airline agents together to help a passenger who is running late or has some other issue to solve. One employee may escort the passenger to security while someone on the other side urges them to run.

“It’s nice when that all works out,” she said. “It’s kind of like a movie.”

Moore said he helped a passenger this year who was trying to get on an earlier flight to Tampa than her scheduled departure at 10 p.m. She promised to do a cartwheel if he could make it happen - which he did, quickly.

He urged her not to try the gymnastic feat, but she insisted she was a woman of her word.

“She gathered herself together and she did the cartwheel,” Moore said. “It was a good cartwheel; I was surprised.”

Other passengers laughed and cheered. And then, Moore said, they had their own requests for him: “Work your magic for us.”