Last edit by: Zorak
Delta rolls out schedule changes pretty much every Saturday, though the scope/impact can vary. During this time, seat maps may be locked out, may show the wrong aircraft layout, etc. while changes are occurring. If you are not traveling immediately, FT conventional wisdom is to wait until Sunday (or even Monday in the case of major schedule adjustments where things take longer) for things to settle down, then take stock of your upcoming itineraries to see what changes have occurred and what changes/refunds you may be entitled to.
You are entitled to a full refund to original form of payment, even for a ticket that was purchased as a non-refundable ticket, if any of the following occur as a result of schedule change:
The airline would rather keep your money than refund it, so they will frequently accept any vaguely reasonable rerouting that you propose. This includes, by policy, changing origin and/or destination within 100 miles, rebooking +/- two days, and changing outbound/return date to keep the length of the trip the same post-rebooking.
If none of the above conditions for a refund is true, you may still be entitled to a free change -- in your trip summary there will be a notice about changes/refunds, and per the "conditions apply" popup link in that text:
If possible, you may wish to try modifying your flights online first -- there have been data points where the site allowed a free rebooking even though it did not technically fall into the above categories. NOTE however that self-rebooking online is known not to work if you have (1) any trip involving upgrade certificates (whether cleared or not), (2) if you have self-upgraded by picking an upgraded seat that said FREE (instead of waiting for the automated upgrade system sweep to reseat you in an upgraded seat), this seems to inhibit self-rebooking as well.
Otherwise, suggested best practice is to research your preferred alternative rebooking beforehand (whether DL flight search, Google Flights, ITA Matrix etc.) so that you can speak with an agent already knowing what you want, and ask for it; this will be much more efficient than having an agent find alternatives for you.
Other notes/FAQs:
You are entitled to a full refund to original form of payment, even for a ticket that was purchased as a non-refundable ticket, if any of the following occur as a result of schedule change:
- departure or arrival delay of 2hrs or more
- increase in the number of flight segments (non-stop to connecting, 1-stop to 2-stop, etc.)
- change resulting in a connection below the Minimum Connection Time for a given airport (do a Google search for "site:flyertalk.com minimum connecting time XXX" with the airport code to find the relevant thread if one exists)
- any change in operating carrier, i.e. operated by Delta mainline before the schedule change and Delta Connection after the change
- it is also a commonly-held belief that a change from Delta Connection to mainline, or from one Delta Connection carrier to a different Delta Connection carrier, also qualifies for a full refund -- if anyone has documentation of this, a link would be great...
The airline would rather keep your money than refund it, so they will frequently accept any vaguely reasonable rerouting that you propose. This includes, by policy, changing origin and/or destination within 100 miles, rebooking +/- two days, and changing outbound/return date to keep the length of the trip the same post-rebooking.
If none of the above conditions for a refund is true, you may still be entitled to a free change -- in your trip summary there will be a notice about changes/refunds, and per the "conditions apply" popup link in that text:
If a Delta schedule or routing change has delayed your departure or arrival by more than one hour, you may be eligible to select an alternate flight at no additional charge. Note that the below conditions may apply:
- Your origin, destination and travel date must remain the same
- Alternate flights must be available, and you can only modify once as subsequent changes may result in additional fees
- Voluntary changes to other flights not impacted by a Delta schedule change may result in additional fees
Otherwise, suggested best practice is to research your preferred alternative rebooking beforehand (whether DL flight search, Google Flights, ITA Matrix etc.) so that you can speak with an agent already knowing what you want, and ask for it; this will be much more efficient than having an agent find alternatives for you.
Other notes/FAQs:
- Even if you voluntarily choose a preferred rebooking, you have a high likelihood of success claiming Original Routing Credit since the original reason for the change was involuntary.
- If you booked through a travel agency, including online travel agencies (OTA) such as Expedia, Chase Ultimate Rewards, etc. you will have to contact them, not Delta, to request rerouting if the automatic rebooking is not satisfactory to you.
- There have been reports of an agency insisting that a change of 2 hours was required (per the "pro" site) for a free change, even though the popup on the DL site says 1 hour
- You can sometimes get Delta to take over a travel agency ticket; this is subject to a $50 fee to take over the ticket, although sometimes agents decline to collect it
Consolidated Delta Schedule Change Discussion Thread
#1546
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,063
I couldn’t find availability plus or minus a couple of weeks, so presumably it’s a seasonality thing.
The challenge is that we have a tight schedule that may make a connection prohibitive. I may have to fly to SNA and have a car service do a ground transfer. I’d just be disappointed if they then reinstate the direct flight to PSP, though I guess I can always cancel and rebook.
Thanks, all!
The challenge is that we have a tight schedule that may make a connection prohibitive. I may have to fly to SNA and have a car service do a ground transfer. I’d just be disappointed if they then reinstate the direct flight to PSP, though I guess I can always cancel and rebook.
Thanks, all!
*DL MSP-PSP APR 1.0>1.4[1.4] MAY 1.0>0[0.0] JUN 1.0>0[0] JUL 1.0>0[0] AUG 1.0>0[0] SEP 1.0>0[0] OCT 1.0>0[0] NOV 1.0>0[0] DEC 1.0>0.5[0.5]
You can see most of the schedule cuts loaded last weekend were for April only and only a handful of routes were cut or reduced further out than that.
https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1457603
Last edited by xliioper; Feb 12, 2021 at 6:28 pm
#1549
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Arlington, VA
Programs: DL DM, 1.5 MM; AS MVP Gold 100K; HHonors Diamond; AMEX Platinum
Posts: 488
I got hit with a schedule change for 4/30 (DCA-BOS direct eliminated, now a connection through JFK) and also one on 10/2 (DTW-DCA shifted from 8:30 am to 10:00 am).
#1550
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,063
The bulk of changes were updates to the schedule from April 12th through May 1st. The schedule changes a couple weeks ago had gone through April 11th.
#1551
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: DL Diamond, UA Premier Gold
Posts: 2,939
Got a schedule change notification of a first leg moving three hours earlier, resulting in a four hour layover. I checked and my original flight is still operating at the original time. Called and switched back with no issues. Gotta love Delta IT.
#1552
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: ANC
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 1,858
Just sharing an observation from my recent round of schedule changes:
Saw the changes to my outbound flights in late April yesterday. Typical Saturday weirdness: Flight times/numbers in red, unable to select a seat map, aircraft type missing, etc, etc. I did see the "Accept" button at the top but didn't click it. My past experience has always been to give things a day or two, the system processes the changes, and everything reappears and the "Accept" button goes away and there's just a generic caution message at the top that your schedule has changed.
I checked this afternoon and the "Accept" button has indeed gone away. New flight numbers and times are displayed, nothing in red, and I was able to access seat maps for the flights (had to adjust one flight's seat assignments since the computer moved my spouse and I).
However, the app still says "Status Not Available" for all segments on the outbound. The website shows "Confirmed" but doesn't state the usual green "On Time." Wondering if it's just a glitch, or if it's just because the ticket was not auto-reissued? The flight times weren't significant enough to warrant a ticket re-issue, but one flight did change from mainline to Endeavour, so wondering if it needs to be re-issued due to that?
Saw the changes to my outbound flights in late April yesterday. Typical Saturday weirdness: Flight times/numbers in red, unable to select a seat map, aircraft type missing, etc, etc. I did see the "Accept" button at the top but didn't click it. My past experience has always been to give things a day or two, the system processes the changes, and everything reappears and the "Accept" button goes away and there's just a generic caution message at the top that your schedule has changed.
I checked this afternoon and the "Accept" button has indeed gone away. New flight numbers and times are displayed, nothing in red, and I was able to access seat maps for the flights (had to adjust one flight's seat assignments since the computer moved my spouse and I).
However, the app still says "Status Not Available" for all segments on the outbound. The website shows "Confirmed" but doesn't state the usual green "On Time." Wondering if it's just a glitch, or if it's just because the ticket was not auto-reissued? The flight times weren't significant enough to warrant a ticket re-issue, but one flight did change from mainline to Endeavour, so wondering if it needs to be re-issued due to that?
#1553
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: ANC
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 1,858
Just sharing an observation from my recent round of schedule changes:
Saw the changes to my outbound flights in late April yesterday. Typical Saturday weirdness: Flight times/numbers in red, unable to select a seat map, aircraft type missing, etc, etc. I did see the "Accept" button at the top but didn't click it. My past experience has always been to give things a day or two, the system processes the changes, and everything reappears and the "Accept" button goes away and there's just a generic caution message at the top that your schedule has changed.
I checked this afternoon and the "Accept" button has indeed gone away. New flight numbers and times are displayed, nothing in red, and I was able to access seat maps for the flights (had to adjust one flight's seat assignments since the computer moved my spouse and I).
However, the app still says "Status Not Available" for all segments on the outbound. The website shows "Confirmed" but doesn't state the usual green "On Time." Wondering if it's just a glitch, or if it's just because the ticket was not auto-reissued? The flight times weren't significant enough to warrant a ticket re-issue, but one flight did change from mainline to Endeavour, so wondering if it needs to be re-issued due to that?
Saw the changes to my outbound flights in late April yesterday. Typical Saturday weirdness: Flight times/numbers in red, unable to select a seat map, aircraft type missing, etc, etc. I did see the "Accept" button at the top but didn't click it. My past experience has always been to give things a day or two, the system processes the changes, and everything reappears and the "Accept" button goes away and there's just a generic caution message at the top that your schedule has changed.
I checked this afternoon and the "Accept" button has indeed gone away. New flight numbers and times are displayed, nothing in red, and I was able to access seat maps for the flights (had to adjust one flight's seat assignments since the computer moved my spouse and I).
However, the app still says "Status Not Available" for all segments on the outbound. The website shows "Confirmed" but doesn't state the usual green "On Time." Wondering if it's just a glitch, or if it's just because the ticket was not auto-reissued? The flight times weren't significant enough to warrant a ticket re-issue, but one flight did change from mainline to Endeavour, so wondering if it needs to be re-issued due to that?
I called the PM line yesterday and had an agent take a look at the reservation, mainly to make sure my pet-in-cabin had carried over to the new flights (which had correctly occurred). She did say the ticket was simply re-validated and there was no need for it to be re-issued even with one flight changing from mainline to regional. I’m a little skeptical about that, but I’m sure there will be more changes before the travel date arrives.
The app still oddly shows “status not available” for the outbound portion that had changes. The website shows “passenger status: confirmed” on all segments, but again does not have the green “on time” by the outbound flights like the return does. Probably just a DL IT glitch.
#1555
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,320
#1557
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,190
Be happy. You now have total flexibility to change your flight or day of travel up to the last minute for a refund or an even exchange/no fare difference. If you indeed booked it yesterday then you still have the risk-free guarantee available to you too
#1558
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: DL Diamond, UA Premier Gold
Posts: 2,939
Check to make sure the original flight really no longer operates. I keep getting bumped off flights by the schedule change computer only to find out there are still flights at or near the original times.
#1559
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: NOVA
Programs: IHG Rewards Platinum, Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond, UA/DL/AA Back of the plane...
Posts: 4,612
yeah, it is gone. I am surprised that it is down to one non-stop DCA-MSP....
#1560
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,320