Domestic Fare Downgrade and Upgrade Policy Change

Posted: Auguest 5, 2004

Effective August 4, 2004, Delta has implemented some new changes to policies and procedures for downgrades and upgrades for domestic tickets. These new policies and procedures apply to all tickets regardless of issue or travel date. The policy will apply for travel within the 50 U.S. states, to/from U.S/Canada and Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands, US./Canada transborder.

Downgrades:

Completely unused published fare tickets may be downgraded to a lower published fare provided all rules are met. Partially used tickets may not be downgraded and refunds/credits will not apply for previously flown travel. When a new published fare is introduced or a current published fare is reduced in a market, ticketed passengers may downgrade prior to departure of the origination flight under the following conditions:

No changes are permitted to the flight/date/origin/destination or stopover point.
Existing reservation must already be confirmed in or rebooked in the appropriate class of service for the new fare.
Passenger must re-qualify for the new/reduced fare by meeting all restrictions, including advance reservations and ticketing requirements. If the new fare has a ticketing deadline, the ticket must be reissued by that date. If the original ticket was nonrefundable and the new ticket is refundable, the nonrefundable provision and amount of the original ticket must be maintained. Indicate nonrefundable amount as an endorsement. Example: NONREF/$345US
Travel agents can downgrade an agency issued ticket, with a published fare, provided the agency originally issued the ticket. Agency should issue a nonrefundable MCO valid for future Delta services. Applicable ASC will apply.
Travel agency refund to original form of payment for nonrefundable tickets – not applicable.
Web fares are eligible for downgrades. ASC fee applies
Upgrades:

Upgrades apply for domestic, published fare tickets. The new policy will apply to all tickets regardless of issue or travel dates. Completely unused tickets may be upgraded to a higher fare provided all rules are met. Partially used tickets may not be upgraded. When a passenger requests to change a nonrefundable fare to a higher published fare (refundable or nonrefundable), ticketed passengers may upgrade prior to departure of the originating flight under the following conditions:

No changes are permitted to the flight/date/origin/destination or stopover point.
Passengers’ existing reservation must be rebooked in the appropriate class of service for the higher fare.
Passengers must re-qualify for the higher published fare by meeting all restrictions, including advance reservations and ticketing requirements.
If the new fare has a ticketing deadline, the ticket must be reissued by that date.
If the original ticket is nonrefundable and the new ticket is refundable, the nonrefundable provision and amount of the original ticket must be maintained. Indicate nonrefundable amount as an endorsement. Example: NONREF/$345US
ASC fee will be waived if a passenger is requesting a change from a published nonrefundable fare to any higher published fare (refundable or nonrefundable) and all booking and ticketing rules have been met.