Jul 10, 2016, 5:48 pm
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
May 21, 2021, 8:30 pm
#1861
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 5
Last year, Delta updated the policy to require a 120 minute delay for tickets subject to the domestic contracts of carriage.
If I understand correctly:
-your ATL-CUN leg of OMA-ATL-CUN, was moved one hour later, you want to rebook to a routing earlier in the day, you booked with a TA, and the TA says the 120 minute rule for domestic departures bars any free change.
While you might have been able to get a DL agent to make this change on a direct DL-issued ticket, it is unlikely DL will make the adjustment to a TA-booked ticket.
If I understand correctly:
-your ATL-CUN leg of OMA-ATL-CUN, was moved one hour later, you want to rebook to a routing earlier in the day, you booked with a TA, and the TA says the 120 minute rule for domestic departures bars any free change.
While you might have been able to get a DL agent to make this change on a direct DL-issued ticket, it is unlikely DL will make the adjustment to a TA-booked ticket.
May 21, 2021, 8:36 pm
#1862
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 5
Based on my experiences with Delta, your travel agent is wrong.
Option A) Force the TA to do their job and call Delta and get the flights you want.
Option B) Have you tried just going to delta.com -- enter your PNR and last name and pull up the record. If it still has the big red notice about a schedule change and "acknowledge", then go ahead and "acknowledge" it, click on "modify flights" and see what it gives you for the same price. You may be pleasantly surprised. Ignore the "0 available at this price" - if it's listed, it's available.
Option C) You can ask Delta to "take over" the reservation from the agent. They usually charge ~$50/ticket to do this so it's not ideal.. Maybe you can explain to Delta that your TA is refusing to work with you and maybe they will waive that fee?
Good luck!
Option A) Force the TA to do their job and call Delta and get the flights you want.
Option B) Have you tried just going to delta.com -- enter your PNR and last name and pull up the record. If it still has the big red notice about a schedule change and "acknowledge", then go ahead and "acknowledge" it, click on "modify flights" and see what it gives you for the same price. You may be pleasantly surprised. Ignore the "0 available at this price" - if it's listed, it's available.
Option C) You can ask Delta to "take over" the reservation from the agent. They usually charge ~$50/ticket to do this so it's not ideal.. Maybe you can explain to Delta that your TA is refusing to work with you and maybe they will waive that fee?
Good luck!
Opt B: I do have the notice and modify flight option for our PNRs, but it doesn’t allow me to change online. I’m guessing because of the 3rd party option.
Opt C: I’m tempted, just wasn’t sure that’s possible. I’ve seen it mentioned on here but no one ever saying they’ve tried and done so successfully. I do worry if I go that route the TA may void our price match for the resort which was a $1000 difference because I’m modifying the itinerary.
May 22, 2021, 2:47 pm
#1864
Join Date: Jul 2004
Programs: DL; AA; UA; CO; LHLX; NZ; QR; EK; BA
Posts: 7,409
More widebodies from JFK out West for July
Some changes with today's schedule changes for July:
Daily flights:
JFK-LAS: 1x 764; 1x 763ER; 1x 739
JFK-PHX: 1x 764; 1x 739
JFK-DEN: 1x 764
JFK-SAN: 1x 764; 1x 75S
JFK-SFO: 1x 763ER; 4x 75S
JFK-SEA: 1x 763ER; 3x 739
JFK-LAX: 4x 764; 4x 763ER
Daily flights:
JFK-LAS: 1x 764; 1x 763ER; 1x 739
JFK-PHX: 1x 764; 1x 739
JFK-DEN: 1x 764
JFK-SAN: 1x 764; 1x 75S
JFK-SFO: 1x 763ER; 4x 75S
JFK-SEA: 1x 763ER; 3x 739
JFK-LAX: 4x 764; 4x 763ER
May 22, 2021, 3:55 pm
#1866
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: West LA
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 957
I'm happy now, as my flight switched from the A333 to the A339. Now I just wish I had a seat staggered by the window, as they kept me in 3J which is staggered towards the isle. Only other 2 seats available are 1A and 7J, both staggered towards the window, but both next to the lavs. I'm contemplating the move to 1A, as the lav looks to be a good distance away, unlike 7J. Hmmmm...
May 22, 2021, 4:02 pm
#1867
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,878
I'm happy now, as my flight switched from the A333 to the A339. Now I just wish I had a seat staggered by the window, as they kept me in 3J which is staggered towards the isle. Only other 2 seats available are 1A and 7J, both staggered towards the window, but both next to the lavs. I'm contemplating the move to 1A, as the lav looks to be a good distance away, unlike 7J. Hmmmm...
May 22, 2021, 4:26 pm
#1868
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: West LA
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 957
Don't even worry about it. Lots of people made bookings long ago and were rescheduled onto that flight when countless other TATL flights were cancelled. Many of them probably don't even know they're on that flight yet. Many of them will end up cancelling or rescheduling. If you keep an eye on it, I have no doubt a window-side seat will open up (I think you can setup an alert in expertflyer to keep an eye on it too)
May 22, 2021, 4:59 pm
#1869
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: Delta Platinum; Hilton Diamond; Marriot Gold
Posts: 1,119
about time we got a wide body back on this route!
May 22, 2021, 6:45 pm
#1870
Join Date: May 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM; UA 1K; AA 1MM
Posts: 4,520
Fascinating that even with all the widebody slack causing LAS, DEN, SAN, PHX to get widebodies, JFK-SEA is *still* mostly 739. (I guess, to be fair, most Asia flight aren't operating but still. Hub-to-hub transcon and it's still stuck on 739s)
May 22, 2021, 7:23 pm
#1871
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,878
With TPAC shut down, there are very few city pairs JFK-XXX where SEA makes sense as a connection. Especially now that DL has direct flights to Alaska from most of its hubs. I wouldn't expect much widebodies anytime soon.
May 22, 2021, 8:29 pm
#1872
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Antonio
Programs: DL DM, Former AA EXP now AY Plat, AC 75K, NW Plat, Former CO Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 27,052
I'm happy now, as my flight switched from the A333 to the A339. Now I just wish I had a seat staggered by the window, as they kept me in 3J which is staggered towards the isle. Only other 2 seats available are 1A and 7J, both staggered towards the window, but both next to the lavs. I'm contemplating the move to 1A, as the lav looks to be a good distance away, unlike 7J. Hmmmm...
May 27, 2021, 2:49 pm
#1873
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 5
Opt A: I’ve been pretty persistent, but haven’t gotten her to budge.
Opt B: I do have the notice and modify flight option for our PNRs, but it doesn’t allow me to change online. I’m guessing because of the 3rd party option.
Opt C: I’m tempted, just wasn’t sure that’s possible. I’ve seen it mentioned on here but no one ever saying they’ve tried and done so successfully. I do worry if I go that route the TA may void our price match for the resort which was a $1000 difference because I’m modifying the itinerary.
Opt B: I do have the notice and modify flight option for our PNRs, but it doesn’t allow me to change online. I’m guessing because of the 3rd party option.
Opt C: I’m tempted, just wasn’t sure that’s possible. I’ve seen it mentioned on here but no one ever saying they’ve tried and done so successfully. I do worry if I go that route the TA may void our price match for the resort which was a $1000 difference because I’m modifying the itinerary.
May 27, 2021, 7:01 pm
#1874
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: flyover country
Posts: 2,435
Today I received email from Delta saying my refund has been processed, but warning it has not yet been pushed the the card issuer (which is usually done within one business day) and that it can take the card issuer two billing cycles to show the refund.