Some links to products and partners on this website will earn an affiliate commission.

SkyTeam (the alliance of airlines like KLM/Air France, Delta, Korean, etc) has launched an interesting new feature called ‘SkyTeam Rebooking’.

In their own words SkyTeam Rebooking is an,

“innovative technology solution designed to reduce inconvenience caused to customers by flight delays, cancellations, and diversions.”

More specifically, SkyTeam Rebooking will enable frontline agents of SkyTeam’s 20 airlines to access reservations and rebook customers onto another member airline’s flights using their own reservation platform.

Customers affected by disruption to their travel plans can present themselves at a SkyTeam member airline’s ticket or transfer desk up to 48 hours before departure, to be rerouted onto the next available SkyTeam flight.

Perry Cantarutti, SkyTeam’s CEO said,

“Delays and cancellations are a fact of life in travel, but with SkyTeam Rebooking we are tackling the issue head-on to deliver more seamless service to customers, especially when their journey doesn’t go as planned… Irregular operations are a moment of truth for airlines and a critical opportunity to demonstrate customer centricity. Since the roll out of SkyTeam Rebooking began, thousands of passengers have been helped by our members thanks to this new technology.”

SkyTeam Rebooking is being rolled out in two phases, with the service available now in 21 countries, across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America. The second phase, due to be completed in late 2018 will cover the US and Canada.

How does SkyTeam Rebooking work?

Customers of any SkyTeam member airline will be able to get help from another member airline’s ticket agent.

When a customer seeks assistance at an airport, SkyTeam Rebooking allows the airline’s ticketing agent to quickly access the original or an active copy of the customer itinerary to rebook and reissue an electronic ticket regardless of which SkyTeam carrier sold the ticket or which reservation system hosts the booking.

The SkyTeam Rebooking policy prioritizes getting the passenger on the next best available flight, in the same ticketed cabin and airline, on the same day, whenever possible.

The customer is provided with a printed confirmation of the new itinerary and an electronic ticket. Rebooking and ticketing on the new flight happens in just a few minutes.

Bottom line

Anything that makes solving delays and cancellations easier is good news as far as I’m concerned. Most frequent travellers are all too familiar with things going wrong (especially last week!), but how companies deal with those challenges really can make a big difference.

Who has the worst travel-related ‘horror story’ from last week? Let us know what happened in the comments below!