Your best shot at good airline customer service may be through social media

If you’ve ever had an issue with an airline reservation or flight, you know it can be quite a challenge reaching a real person. You may be able to get some results from customer service via social media.

A recent article in the New York Times says that more and more, airlines are providing customer service via social media, rather than phone. Because of its real-time capabilities, tweeting is especially effective, the Times indicates. Another advantage of social media is that airline “social care” teams can post helpful links for rebooking, lost and found and other things.

I recently noted an instance where Delta’s Twitter handle answered a request in about 8 minutes. Mind you, these are not usually expansive formal answers, but rather quick and dirty replies — oftentimes just what you need as a hurried traveler on the go.

How to reach your favorite airline via social media

Increasingly, if you’re in need of immediate help and aren’t keen on picking up the phone and waiting perhaps an ungodly amount of time on hold, all you need is a social media account on one of the major social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The social team for American Airlines, for instance, fields 4,500 tweets per day and has a 30-minute response time goal, according to the Times. Other major airlines have similar setups.

Here are the social media accounts of the major airlines

Now that you know how to contact customer service on social media, here’s money expert Clark Howard’s secret to finding the cheapest flight possible.

Here are some more travel-related articles you might enjoy from Clark.com:

• Fly a major airline in recent years? You may be due some money
• Things to know before you fly Southwest Airlines
• Things to know before you book a flight on Delta Airlines
• Things to know about ultra-low carrier Frontier Airlines