One day, a client called me. It was late in the day and he was scheduled to fly out of Las Vegas, Nevada to return to his home in San Antonio, Texas. When he arrived at the airport, he found out that his flight was cancelled due to mechanical failure. Calling from the Vegas airport, he asked if I would check his airline’s website to see if they had any later flights available. When he called, he was standing in a long line waiting to talk to an airline representative at the airline counter.

Has this ever happened to you? Your flight gets cancelled and you, along with 200 other passengers, are scrambling to make alternate arrangements, usually at the airline counter. Unless you’re first in line, it could take 30-45 minutes, or longer, to reach the counter, while in the interim, the last available flight can be booked solid or take off.

What’s a passenger to do? Go ahead and get in line at the airline counter. Then, and more importantly, while in line, use your cell phone to call the airline’s reservation desk. (Their number should be listed on your boarding pass.) The reservation desk can help right away to get you on an alternate flight, often much quicker than waiting in line.

Better yet, before you leave on your next trip, program the airline’s reservation desk or customer service number into your cell phone. Then you’ll be ready in case your flight plans are disrupted. As for my client; as I advised, he called the airline’s reservation desk and was able to catch another flight home that evening. Crisis averted!