This is dead on from the customer's perspective. A few years back I was flying from PHL to AUS (through O'Hare) to a conference; the outbound plane at PHL was delayed for repairs, and when it looked like I'd miss my Chicago connection (and a cancellation looked inevitable), I approached the gate agent. I politely mentioned that I had to be in AUS by a certain time; she answered back that she couldn't do anything until the flight was officially canceled, but she took my information and said she'd call me back up to the podium when she could act.

Fast forward about 90 minutes. The flight is officially canceled due to a mechanical. Everyone and their mother (literally) mob the podium to try and rebook. I patiently wait my turn while other passengers scream at the gate agent, hurling insults, threatening to complain to customer service, etc. I catch the GA's eye, and she asks me to step to the side while she helps a family of four rebook an unnecessarily complex itinerary to Salt Lake. 10 minutes later, she prints a set of boarding passes and hands them to me - she's rerouted me through DFW and upgraded me the whole way. She thanks me for my patience, I wish her good luck with the mob, and I'm on my way.

The moral of the story: the best thing you can do as a passenger is be nice to the gate agents and know when to step aside. You may be pleasantly surprised by the result.

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