will2288

I booked a flight a few months ago in business, for a trip from RDU-Italy in September. There have been the expected minor time/equip changes, but when I recently checked the booking, a bigger change occurred. On the return, I was set to fly VCE-ATL-RDU, but DL cancelled the VCE-ATL flight. The best/only 1-stop option was VCE-JFK-RDU. As you can see below, DL booked me in the long-haul correctly but didn't book correct/possible flights for the last leg. This is what they had booked for me, until I called:




I curious why this was the case. DL did not call or email me about this, I just happened to check the flights, as I occasionally do. I called DL and easily got the proper JFK-RDU flights. I am glad I noticed this promptly so I could get the flights/seats I wanted. To be clear, I am asking more out of curiosity than as a complaint. Everything worked out in the end.

RollsRoyceAndy

Well you are still a long way out so stay on top of it as they can and most likely have more changes before it is over.

As for why the re-book was not done correctly, hard to say but glitches do occur. This has happened twice to me but only on award tickets and that may be because those are the only things I book very far out. As for the e-mail notifications, I get them when there is a one minute change in the schedule and after a while you tend to ignore or gloss over them. Is it possible you got an email but did not see the connection error until later and did not connect the email to the change?

Sez_Who

Common frustration with me, too. It's not like DL doesn't have the info to call/email pax when there is a change. You played it right, check your itin frequently and if there is a change, find your own best flt options and call the airline.

Often1

Auto re-book is great for messy situations in immediate IRROPS. But, I don't see value in it for itineraries in the future.

I do not rely on carriers to call me, but check booked itineraries frequently.

javabytes

Yuck... I might have tried to insist on a partner to a European gateway, esp. FCO (AZ), AMS (KL), and then to ATL. JFK customs/immigration is always a miserable experience.

matthew64832

This has happened to me several times on paid tickets. DL will try to keep your current flights in place as much as possible. I.e. if your first leg is rescheduled or cancelled, it will try and find flights which connect to your existing second leg, even if the routing no longer makes sense or it adds an additional connection. Calling usually sorts it out easily.

javabytes

I don't care if I get auto-rebooked due to a schedule change. In fact, I'd rather not, and pick my own alternatives.

I do, at a minimum, expect to be notified when the flights I purchased are cancelled and no longer available.

jsmith50

I've had this happen a lot as well, especially with international trips booked well in advance. Seems like when this occurs, you get a message on the itinerary showing that changes to your itinerary may cause you to miss a flight, etc. and it gives you an option to look for other options but, I would say, more times than not, it doesn't automatically re-book me. Instead, I either have to call or look for new flights on my own.

cfwolfs

Initially, The auto rebook fixes the flight that is affected, rather than your itinerary as a whole. Vce-atl cancelled, so it thinks you NEED to get to atl, not RDU. Then, your itinerary errors out, because there's an overlap in time, and is put in the queue for fixing. You can call in and move yours to the front of the queue and fix it, or wait till a human looks at it, then get an updated email.

I talked to an agent about this once when an itinerary has me leaving the connection city the day before I got there and the process was explained to me. It was a couple years ago, but based on the auto rebook for you, it hasn't changed.

cdubose98

Might part of the OP's problem also be that VCE-JFK "continues" on to ATL, as evidenced by the fact that it has the same flight number as the JFK-ATL flight? I'm wondering if this situation might not have happened if there wasn't a "thru-flight" VCE-JFK-ATL, and the computer didn't notice that the OP's new flight was actually two different flights. I have little experience with scenarios like this, so I'm just asking out of curiosity.

jjmiller69

They've done this to me many times. I've had to call and say how am I going to make my last flight when it took off 2 hours before I land? Last time was 3 months ago.

lexi

This is not just a DL problem. I've also had it happen to me on AA. Like the previous posters, I too would rather pick my new flights, but it is frustrating to not be notified and find out only due to a periodic check of the itinerary.

mnredfox

I find it annoying when DL doesn't rebook for flights that are far out, esp with award itins or with partners. Heck, they don't even notify you - you often have to monitor your PNR's.

view-with-a-room

Medallion Upgrade Requested SAT, 03 MAY 2014 42 DAYS FROM DEPARTURE
SNA ► ATL : DL 1757
FLIGHT STATUS: STATUS NOT AVAILABLE
DEPART:
12:45 PM
ARRIVE:
7:54 PM
ECONOMY (X)
|
20D
| CHANGE SEATS
> Details
LAYOVER IN ATLANTA, GA 16M
With a schedule change, you may miss your connecting flight. Please review your scheduled itinerary.
Medallion Upgrade Requested SAT, 03 MAY 2014 42 DAYS FROM DEPARTURE
ATL ► TUL : DL 1594
FLIGHT STATUS: STATUS NOT AVAILABLE
DEPART:
8:10 PM
ARRIVE:
9:13 PM
ECONOMY (X)

Acceptable alternative via MSP but via CRJ with no upgrade options -- same times. Quite tempted to wait and see, though...

davetravels

Normally, when I see a schedule change with a goofy layover or misconnect, I call to fix it, but a coupl'a times, when the trip was far in the future, I have just let the misconnect sit for a while, just to see what would happen, knowing that they're always very liberal when it comes to making changes, and at some point - maybe 2 or 3 weeks down the road, it has ALWAYS been fixed properly, and if it's not to my liking, I have always been successful at getting it the way I want it.

To the OP: For September, I'd say that it would have been fixed in a couple of weeks. The system is (probably) still working on fixing earlier itineraries.